#//i got distracted by a little tune in my head and now i'm taking down the notes in my music box app so i'll finish whatever i was saying

[keeps-ache]

drink on the bed to my left. we know where this is going, but

[f1version]

DISTRACTION ★ CS55

pairing: carlos sainz jr. x girlfriend!reader (she/her)

summary: Carlos is stretching while you are trying to work. Keeping your eyes off him is harder than you thought.

or this request

warnings: teasing, kissing, spanish pet names, shirtless carlos, just carlos in general and reader being overwhelmed by that.

word count: 840

It's been about an hour since Carlos asked you to get in the pool with him. You would have, but after looking at all the work you had due, all he got was a no. So now he is looking for revenge.

He has been stretching for the past 10 minutes. No shirt. Wet from the pool.

Carlos is good-looking, everyone knows that. You know that. He knows that, and he's using it against you.

Each time you look up information, you end up with Carlos' face on your laptop. Each time you focus enough to write something, you hear a small moan coming from Carlos' mouth. Each time you get lost in thought, your eyes end up on Carlos' body.

This is impossible. He is impossible.

You close your eyes, draining all thoughts from your mind, miraculously being successful in the process. There was nothing but a dark void, all of Carlos' intense presence forgotten.

Peace.

"Mi vida?"  His voice trembles in your head, making your eyes fly open, cursing everything and everyone in this world "Are you okay?"

Oh my god. He looked so innocent, brown eyes wide and soft, you almost fell for it. He was playing games that are hard to win.

"Yeah, I'm good" You answered, "I just need to finish this article for tomorrow."

He nodded, "Maybe after you finish, we can have a little fun," He said, winking and then continued stretching.

How is he even real?

He just says things, does things, and you know they are on purpose. You know how he wants you to see him. He wants you to want him.

You turned to look at him once he was focused on whatever he was doing at this point. He is gorgeous. His tanned skin traced by the sun, glowing because of the sweat and water, mouth slightly open, breathing deeply, eyes shut.

You saw him smile to himself, it was so sudden that it made you hyperaware of yourself. You were almost on your knees, eyes fixated on him. And god, you swear you had just whimpered. That's why Carlos was smiling.

Fuck him.

"You are the worst." You heard yourself say, no longer concerned about work. Well, maybe a bit, but you had to enjoy your time with him.

"Hm? Did you say something, cariño?" He had heard you. He does this regularly when teasing you, lying about not hearing you. You don't think he notices this habit of his, but you do. And you love it.

"Can you come here, please, amor?" You ignored his comment, you had to end this now, he is too much of a distraction.

The Spaniard nodded, smirk on his lips. Positioning himself in between your legs when he got closer. He was looking at you now, his eyes were mischief as he said, "Is everything okay with work?"

And you kissed him. Kissed him as if he were the only thing you needed, kissed his burning lips without fear of melting. Lips that, with the eagerness, moved faster, tuning to the rhythm of his racing heart. His hands were now on you, your own pair on him, both touching every inch.

Carlos lets out a whimper, and you believe that is the most beautiful sound in the world, because he is the most beautiful man in the world.

You moan in response, Carlos taking the opportunity to wrap your legs around his torso, lifting you as he stands, his mouth never leaving yours.

He starts walking and you know you have reached the bedroom when he almost knocks you over with a couple of doorframes. He kisses your neck, leaving small bites and marks on those places he knows drive you insane.

When you feel yourself falling onto the mattress, your legs never leaving his waist, you turn the two of you around, straddling him.

"You are the devil. You know that, right?" You say, and he smiles, bringing you down for a kiss. You start moving around, leaving his lips, kissing his chest, moving your hips, all making Carlos curse and call out your name.

"Mierda" He whispers, eyes closed, "Don’t stop, sweetheart.”

But you do stop.

His eyes open fast when he doesn’t feel you near anymore, his hands try to catch you before you stand up. You are faster.

"What the fuck?" He protests, sitting up while you go through the door.

"I told you I had to work, amor." You say, "But since you decided to be such a tease, I had no more options."

He looks too stunned to speak… and turned on, very turned on.

"Cariño,"

"We can finish this tonight, how's that?" You wink at him. "See ya.’"

That's the last thing you say before running away, leaving a desperate Carlos who has declared war against you in his head.

translation:

amor love mi vida my life cariño sweetheart mierda shit / fuck

[screaminglygay]

hey! can we pretty pls have a pt2 to the stalker!amber?

Amber Freeman headcanons

warnings: dark!amber, swearing, toxic situationship, possibly bad grammar, stalking, obsessive behavior

word count: 1.7k

an: thank you for your patience! i still have some sort of writing block, so this is just something little, but I want to write a full fic on amber, so stay tuned! hehe

Amber and you have many study sessions, she wants you to pass all the exams, it is not her fault that it always leads her to take you in any way she wants

"Amber, we talked about this..." you sigh as you look at the book infront of you, while Amber´s hands were wandering on your body.

"I'm just helping. If you can solve this under a distraction, can you imagine how good you'll be during the exam?" She looks at you, admiring you as she always does.

"So when someone would touch me during the exam I´m gonna be prepared?" You finally look at her, making a joke.

Her whole body shifts, she´s being slightly frustrated about you being such a brat. "Fine, let´s go back to stuying."

"What? I´m just playing your game, Ambs," you smile softly at her.

"No, you´re just being a fucking brat." And now, she´s mad mad.

You scan her face for a little bit, "oh come on, I was just joking," you poke her face slightly.

And there goes her tiny manipulation tactic, that you always fall hard for.

"I feel like you could do something little for me, since I´m spending so much time with you, making sure you pass..." Amber sits up.

You immedietly sit up too, "I- sorry, you are right," you take her hand in yours.

"Lay down, pretty girl..." she leans over you and you lay on your back, here it goes again.

No matter what subject, day in a week or time... Amber always knows how to make you do whatever she wants. And every single time and you... you obey.

Amber always knowing where you are, when the two of you are not together. She put few of a dog trackers in your wallet, some clothes, backpack, even into Chad´s car, just to be sure you´re always okay.

After a long weekend of not seeing eachother, Amber stops by your locker in the morning and waits for you. You immedietly smile, when you see her. It was a long time with your family on some stupid gathering outside the city, your cousin had birthday party - the most disgusting, pervy, rasist idiot. You´re very happy that you are back in school... it is kinda the same hell hole, but at least you still have your friends and Amber here.

"Hi," you say softly as you open your locker, taking out some books.

"Hi," she watches you, "how did you enjoy the family gathering?"

"It was hell-" you respond, but then you look at her with raise eyebrow, "wait, how do you know about the gathering?"

Amber without missing a beat asnwers with a smile, "Chad mentioned."

You nod, "oh, he can´t keep a secret, got it." You shake your head as you close the locker.

The girl smiles, another lie that you believe so easily. "Why a secret?"

"It´s a long story, but uh... I´m not really a fan talking about family, especially if most of them are shitty rasist who can´t name a single country outside of the US," you shrug.

"Got it, no more mentioning these people." She nods, like she doesn´t already know your whole family tree.

She has a tons of your pictures and videos, special folders on her phone, laptop, flashdisks, everything is sorted out.

Because you two are bonding more and more, she was really happy to make a new special folder of you. If the previous photos were only for her, these kinds of pictures are under increased security.

"You look so pretty, so so so pretty," she smiles at you kneeling on the bed, your hands covering your face, from all the emberassement. "Don´t be shy, puppy, look at me... come on." She takes her phone and opens camera.

"Amber..." you basically whine.

"What? Can´t I take a picture of a pretty girl on my bed?" She makes a photo. "Put those hands away for me."

You do, blushing like crazy, this is not something you´re used to. But you want to make her happy, seeing her smile at you makes something inside of you tingle.

"Pretty girl, look at you!" She smirks.

What you didn´t know, was that she has another camera in her room and every single time you´re there, you are increasing the number of files in her folder.

Even though the two of you are not official yet, everyone can see that Amber holds this sort of protection over you.

Another collage party, which is not a place you would chose to spend your time, but everyone decided to go and you didn´t want to be the only one saying no.

You are sitting on the couch next to Tara and Mindy, talking about your plans for the weekend, when all of the sudden a tall most would say handsome guy sit infront of you.

"That seat is occupied," Mindy says.

He looks around, "I don´t see anyone here. So..." He winks at you.

"That seat is occupied, they just went to grab someting to drink," you yell, because of the loud music.

"I wouldn´t leave such a pretty little thing on her own..." He smiles and you´re ready to throw up.

And before you or any of the girls could say anything, Amber steps in. "She is not alone, you dipshit."

He chuckles and stands up, "and who are you?"

"I don´t want to have a conversation with you," she splashes one of the drinks into his face, which indeed makes him leave with screaming something about a bitch.

"Oh wow, I respect that." Mindy says and Tara just stares at Amber.

"Um- thanks?" You look at Amber.

"Sorry about the drink, here take mine." She smiles as she gives you the only drink that survived.

Amber is very observing, she knows everything about you, even stuff you didn´t figure out on your own, but there are times when you totally shock her.

"Are you crazy, what are you doing here?" Amber yells at you. Walking in the rain was not the smartest decision you made. You were frozen to the bone

"I wanted to suprise you..." you smile softly.

"Wha- come in, jesus!" She steps aside so you can come inside her apartment, rushing to the bathroom for a towel.

"You uh said you had some hard time at work, so I just assumed... that maybe I could cheer you up a little bit." You say while your whole body is trembling.

Amber walks out with a towel and some of her clothes, looking at you like a deer in the headlights.

"I brought your favorite donuts and some nice relaxing candles. And we can order some sushi later. And if you´d like I can help with something, or just... keep you company, since I have zero idea what you´re doing at work." You let out a chuckle, "I mean most of the things I brought are completly wet, but I think they suvived it."

"You´re such a dumbass, do you know that?" Amber shakes her head, helping you put the things down and covering you up in a towel. "Why didn´t you call me, I could pick you up?"

"That woudln´t be a suprise, duh."

"God, we will be lucky if you won´t die from hypothermia, right now."

"I´m not helping with the stress, huh?" you sigh.

"(Y/N), I appraciate the effort, I really do, but next time, don´t try to walk in the worst thunderstorm, alright?"

"I think I could do that, yeah." The both of you laughed.

She loves PDA, her hands are on you all the time. Amber, an ardent lover of public displays of affection, is perpetually tactile, her hands finding peace on the lower back, intertwining fingers, and linked arms, embracing herself around her world.

“I’ll take this, thank you, pretty girl,” she says as she holds your hand for the billionth time today.

Amber is being your personal driver, driving you everywhere you need. Even if it means she has to wake up sooner, when you have classes, she will drive you no matter what.

The both of you made Saturdays as your movie nights.

"What are we chosing tonight?" Amber asks from the batrhoom.

You scroll through the Netflix, "how about the new season of YOU?"

Amber stops at her tracks, "um... what´s that?"

"You don´t know YOU?! What?! It´s really good show! We have to watch it."

"But you´ve already seen it, I don´t want to bother you by watching something twice..." She tries to skate out of it.

"No, no, it´s fine. I really enjoyed it and you will too!" You smile, clicking on the first season.

This was the biggest paradox in Amber´s life.

"Wow, that´s some stalker shit, just like you are!" Amber says with a light nudge.

"Oh shut up! I said if bilions of times, I didn´t stalk you. I don´t do that."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, (Y/N)," Amber teases you, "but following me like a lost puppy, liking my old photo, going through my social media, are you sure you´re not a Joe to my Beck?" Oh she´s pushing it, but for you, it´s just a silly missunderstanding that happened few motnths ago.

Despite her focus on academics and socializing, Amber harbors a secret talent for photography. She has a knack for capturing candid moments and hidden emotions, using her camera lens to express herself in ways that words cannot. And when it is combined with you?

Perfection.

Amber loves when you 'steal' her clothes, there is no better view than you in her bed with only her oversized shirt on you.

"Is that my shirt?" Amber looks at you, as youre already in bed, waiting for the usual movie night.

"Definetly not," you shake your head, taking the blanket to cover you.

"Oh- then what is your favorite song?" She smirks.

"Huh?"

"You have my favorite band on your shirt, what is your favorite song from them?" Amber asks again.

"Oh... um- all of them." Good save?

She laughs "All of them? It is not a band shirt, it´s a car logo, pretty girl."

You blush, "oh." Not a good save.

"It´s fine, keep the shirt, you look pretty in it." She lays next to you, putting an arm around you, keeping you close as possible.

In her free time, Amber enjoys exploring antique shops and flea markets, searching for unique treasures and hidden gems to add to her collection. She has a keen eye for things like this.

Thank you for reading!

[mytheoristavenue]

ATSV Bully!Hobie Brown x Reader - I Hate You

Summary: Ever since you joined the team a few months back, you've had an indescribable distain for Hobie, and the feeling seems mutal, if all his bullying is anything to go by- or so you thought.

Warnings: spider!reader, dangerous situations, angst, fluff, romantic tension, inspired by 'I HATE YOU' by 2NE1

You couldn't stand him, the way he lounged about, aloof and uncaring about the goings on around him. Currently, he layed on a lobby couch, Mayday in his lap with her tiny hands in his, baby talking one another. The sight mad you gag. How could a guy like Hobie possibly be good with kids? Same level of maturity, you guessed.

"(Y/N), are you even listening to me? Do you think this is a joke?" Your boss's harsh tone snapped your attention back to what it ought to be on. Your cheeks burned as Miguel's starer bored into you, waiting for a response, which he'd undeniably cut short just to assert dominance over you. To add insult to injury, you could make out a fit of childish giggling that could only belong to a small red headed girl, fueled by snarky comments from her seemingly adopted older brother.

"I-I'm sorry, I-" you sputtered, feeling frustrated tears prick your eyes. "I just got-"

"Distracted, I'm aware." There it was. And just like that, he was laying into you again, with belittlements so hurtful you had no choice but to tune him out for your own mental health. Finally, he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, letting you know he was done yelling, which was never a good sign. Everyone knows Miguel's quiet anger is so much worse than his loud anger. "Look, you can't keep making these mistakes, they're costing us more and more." he admitted. "I need to know that I can trust you to fix this or..." he trailed, swiping his hair back, not wanting to finish a difficult sentence. "Or I'm gonna have to send you home, perminately."

"Miguel," you instantly protested, swallowing hard to fight back tears. "No please, you know I have nobody to go back to!"

"Then prove to me you can be useful." he replied sternly. "Because right now you're not and you knwo I can't keep anyone around that I can't use. Am I understood?"

You hung your head, tears finally slipping down your cheeks, though you refused to give him a good look at your wet cheeks. "Yes sir, I'll clean it up."

"Good," he nodded, releived to be done with the conversation. "But just in case something goes wrong, take Hobie with you."

-----

Hobie trailed through the headquarters behind you, glancing around awkwardly with his hands shoved in his pockets. This was his fault, really, and he knew it. You knew it, and he knew that you knew, but 'sorry' never had been in his vocabulary. "Look bird-"

"Shut it, you sleezy, incompetent, diabolical little shitstain!" You shoted right there in the hallway, not caring who saw or heard. Hobie threw out his palms in defense with an embarrassed grin.

"Diabolical? I don't think I'm exactly diabolical." he chuckled nervously, only to be silenced once again by your accusing finger.

"You are! You sabbotaged me!" you insisted, seething.

Irritation for your attitude wore down his guilt as he dropped one hand and brought the other to rest on his hip, sassily popping it out. "I did no such thing," he lied. "Not my fault you can't take a joke."

"A joke?!" you shrieked, balling your fists to restrain yourself. "You picked on me before I went on that mission purposefully, just to make sure I screwed up!"

"Oh whatever," he scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I just like gettin' ya all riled up, you're cute when your mad, luv." he cooed sinisterly, leaning his lanky form closer to yours. Color rushed to your face as you began to shake.

"Why can't you just take anything seriously?!"

"Why do you have to treat everything so serious? Not everything is liife or death, (Y/N)." he dismissed, crossing his arms and turning his nose up at you.

"Because this is!"you cried, tears once again begining to fall down your cheeks. Damnit, he never was able to watch you cry. "I have nothing left in my demention ahnd you know it. If I get sent home I-!" you haulted, not knowing what to say, genuinely at a loss. "I-I don't know what I'd do..."

"Bird," he called, sympathy softening him exponetially. "I-"

"Please just save it, Hobie." you finally spat, fidgeting with your watch. "You've said enough."

-----

Standing on a rooftop, you surveiled the area the device had brought you to, scanning for any sign of the anomaly you'd accidnetally released into this univense against the dreary drizzing sky. Looking around and finding yourself alone, you'd asumed Hobie hadn't followed you in, not unlike him to dodge jobs he wasn't in the mood for, and even better for you. If you took care of this on your own, you'd be back in Miguel's good graces for sure.

Before you had any time to begin your search, however, you found yourself knocked off your feet, breathless and went sailing into the nearest horrizontal surface: one of the many windows of a towering office building. Eyes blown in panic and shock, you heave against the scratchy carpet floor, not littlered with broken glass as chaos arose around you. The employees of the office began to jump just from their seats, a few running to your aid or suspciously interogating you, though most chose to flea. Screams, shattering glass, and stomping overwelmed youas you began to become overstimulated, only interupted by dark c huckling uttered in a thick Russian accent.

"Is nice to see you again," the deformed figure before you said, sstepping towards you. "Will be last time, I pomise." With that, the man charged at you headfirst, an offense you narrowly avoided.

"Listen to me, Rhino!" you tried, crawling up to the ceiling and hanging there as you spoke. "I know you've endured pain in your life, every instance of you has, but you don't belong here!"

The behemoth seemed to only take your words as fueled, growling in responce. "You do not know me, spider." he snarled. "Youi know nothing of me!" Raging, he thrashed, thorwing a termper tantrum and hurling an office desk towards you, which thankfully missed you thanks to your vantage point.

"I know a lot more than youy might think!" you plead, begging to chip away down to what little humanity remained of him. "I know your name is Aleksi, and I know you'd had a rough life," you explained cautously, lowering yourself via a strand of silk once you felt he was calming down. Holding your hands out defensively, you continued. "You're a criminal- a theif, but you didn't have a choice, did you, Aleksi?"

"Niet." he answered abashedly, eyes furrowing at you suspiciously.

"I also know that you've been hurt by people you trusted. Doctors and scientists who had other plans for you than what they told you, right?"

"Da."

You sighed, stepping a bit closer, relaxing slightly. "But they people who did that to you aren't here. They're not even in this dimention and you can't go around hruting innocent people looking or them." For a moment, it seemed what you'd said had really gotten to him as he stepped back, staring down at his hands symbollically. "You can't stay here, Aleksi, you have to go home."

Sudddenly his eyes flickered back up to you, filled with rage as he breathing became labored. "Neit!" he hollered, hands curling into clenched fists as he let out a betrayed roar. "I have nothing to go back to! Not going back to prison, I will not be captive!"

Before you knew it, you were falling. Air filled your ears as it rushed by you and your surroundings had long since faded to a watercolor blur. Straight ahead, you could see Rhino standing in the gape of the shattered window of the office building, huffing as he watched you desend. Had he not thrown you off the ledge so quickly, you might have thought to sling a web to break your fall, but you couldn't find it within yourself as you watch his form disappear. This was it, you'd failed thr mission and now you were going home. Sudenly, it dawned on you.

You weren't going to be sent home. You were going to die.

Deadweighted, you closed your eyes, anticipating the crippling hit to the concrete, not that you'd feel it anyways. Suddenly, your decent ended as you fell heavy into a sturdy pair of arms, terribly tired from the race your mind had ran, and talking solice in the warm heartbeat of this angel whoi would carry you on.

The smell of leather and rust hit your nose as you began to come to your senses. "C'mon, luv, gotta wake up." a concerned voice urged as paitently as possibly. Eyes fluttering open, you saw him. Hobie was bathed in daylight, masked face turned from you in effort to give attention to his surroundings as he carried you. Then he skiddfed to a haulted, cursing under his breath has he'd sudddenly stopped giving chase to the interloper. He peer down at you, pulling off his hood with a barely free hand. "Ya still with us?" he asked, nervousness pooling out from under a wall of coolness. You nodded hesitently as he gently set you down.

"Hobie..." you wondered allowed, a bit awestuck from the emotional turmoiled you'd gone through. "You came..."

He cocked a brow, wicks falling to the side with his head. "'Course I didn, what'd you expect of me?"

You couldn't help but feel ashamed, not only of the things you'd said to him earlier in the day, but of your low expectations of him. You'd always known Hobie to have his own agenda, but he was loyal to a fault at the end of the day.

"I thought you'd leave me to clean up my own mess...I'm sorry." you admitted, hanging your head low. Your ears became hot at the sound of his hearty laughter befor his gloved hand slapped down onto your shoulder, probably a bit harded that you would've liked. "W-What's so funny?"

"Nothing, bird," he chuckled, dramatically hunched and wiping an imaginary tear form his eye. "Just that, if you're the one that made the mess, how are you meant to clean it up on your own?"

I hope this lived up to the hype of the snippet. 😖Also, not proffread, mb!

[arcanekai]

All I Want For Christmas Is You

Aether X gn! Reader

---------------

cn | friends to lovers; reader has a brother; reader and Aether are a bit dense

Word count | 2.5k

an | Merry Christmas/ Happy Holidays everyone! Hope you are spending this season with loved ones! And have a Happy New Year!

---------------

The city of Monstadt was bustling with life as you walked down the street, humming a popular Christmas tune.  You had just finished buying your brother's Christmas gift and were now doing a bit of window shopping.  The decorations adoring every store reminded you of just what needed to be done before the fated family gathering happening on Christmas day.  You still had to decorate the tree, make cookies, and buy an ugly sweater for the day.  Not to mention, you need to prepare yourself for the onslaught of questions your relatives have for you and your love life.  With a sign, you turn away from the store window and continue your journey down the street.  As you turn the corner, you bump into something very sturdy.  The impact made you stumble back a bit causing your foot to slip on the curb.  Now falling backwards toward the pavement, you flail your arms to try and balance yourself only for someone's hand to grab your wrist and pull you to safety.  

“Are you okay?”

You look up to see golden orbs gazing at you with worry.

“Aether?  What are you doing here?  I thought you were in Sumeru on vacation with Lumine?”

“Ha, I'll answer your question later.  You still haven't answered mine.”  Aether said with a small smile. 

“Oh right, I'm fine,” you say as you rub the back of your neck in embarrassment, “my ankle hurts a little from the initial fall, but nothing life threatening.”

“That's good to hear, but maybe we should go to the hospital just in case.  I can carry you on my back if you'd like?”

“There's no need for that!  It's just a small sprain and I can walk just fine!” You shake your head and wave your hands in front of your face as a way to distract him from seeing the growing blush on your cheeks.  “Besides, you still haven't answered my questions!”

“Alright, fine.”  Aether replies a little defeated.  “Lumine got snowed in at university and is still stuck there.  We canceled our plans and decided to celebrate Christmas separately.  As for why I am here currently, I'm buying presents.” He holds up the bag slightly with a sympathetic smile. 

“You're spending Christmas by yourself?  How about you spend Christmas with me and my family?  I'm sure they wouldn't mind having you around, I mean you’re practically family at this point.”

Aether's eyes sadden at your last statement.  Although he is happy you see him as family, he wished for something more.  Something less familial and more romantic.  Did you really not notice the huge crush he harbors for you?  All those times in high school when he brought you somewhere secluded, just the two of you, only to be interrupted by one of your friends calling you.  Or during college when he was the only one taking care of you when you were sick.  His friends, as well as yours, caught on to his feelings for you and gave him multiple opportunities to confess to you, however, he was a coward.  So, here he is, on the sidewalk of a busy street, talking to his best friend.  Only his best friend, nothing more, nothing less. 

“I mean if that's okay with you and your family.  I don't want to intrude on your family time.”  Aether said shyly. 

“Nonsense!  Besides, having you there means I get to avoid my nosy relatives who are only interested in my non-existent love life.” You say excitedly while nudging Aether's arm with your elbow.  “*gasp* We can have matching sweaters!  Come on, we have to get them now!”  

You grab Aether by the arm and pull him toward the clothing stores, talking his ear off about everything you guys can do together before the day.  Perhaps staying as friends has its benefits. 

---------------

Standing in the living room was Aether and a very decorated Christmas tree.  As you emerge from your kitchen with a tray of hot chocolate, you see Aether tilt his head to the side before placing another ornament on the tree.  

His hair was in his signature braid and he was wearing the white scarf you had gifted him on his birthday years ago.  It was nice knowing he cherished the gift so much, but it was also concerning with how much he wore it.  Which is why your Christmas present for Aether is a new scarf, white with gold accents, along with some other things and a long overdue love letter.  There were multiple times in high school where you were going to put it in his locker, but the amount of love letters he got from others was disheartening.  During college you had gathered enough courage to ask him out on a date only for it to turn into a group hangout instead.  Just a couple of days earlier, you were planning to leave it in his mailbox while he was on vacation, but that didn't happen.  However, today is different.  Today is the day that you are going to confess.  You steeled yourself the day prior because you were determined to get your feelings across on matter what.  Your brother had hyped you up and supported you all these years, so now was your chance to show the rest of your relatives why you waited so long to get a boyfriend.  Aether was the only one for you and you know that once they met him, they will finally understand. 

As you were giving yourself a pep talk in your head, Aether hears something ringing.  At first he checks his phone, but soon finds the cause of the noise.  Sitting on the couch cushion was your phone, playing your signature ringtone.  Aether could help but smile at the fact that you haven't changed it since high school, but curiosity took over as he looked at the screen. 

William.  Who the heck is William?!  Alright, calm down Aether, this is probably a misunderstanding.  Didn't they say that they have a “non-existent love life”? It's probably not their significant other unlike all those scenarios in movies. Besides, it's not like it's the end of the world if they have other friends they hang out with. 

As Aether was about to tell you your phone was ringing, you quickly put down the tray and rushed to pick it up.  A little too eager for Aether's liking. 

“Hello?  Hey, I haven't heard from you in awhile, what's up?  Oh, okay that's fine with me.  Feel free to drop by anytime.  I should be home.  Alright, okay see you later, bye!”

As Aether stood awkwardly in your living room, trying to pretend he didn't hear anything, it was hard not to imagine this “William” as someone very important to you if you were just letting him come over whenever.  It irked Aether that you weren't saying anything about it either, like it was totally normal to invite someone over without asking your other guest if it was alright.  So, instead of pushing you for information, Aether decided that it would be best to just leave you alone with this “William”.  Seeing that the tree was basically finished, Aether turned to you and gave you a forced smile. 

“Hey, I'm going to head out now if that's alright.  Lumine has been messaging me nonstop and probably wants me to call her.”

Without hearing your response, Aether grabs his coat off the couch, strides to your front door, puts on his boots and leaves. 

“Okay, bye.” You say softly as the door closes, looking down at the two mugs of untouched hot chocolate. 

You place the tray on the coffee table and sit on the couch, elbows resting on your knees while your hands hold up your head.  You let out a somber sigh before leaning back and covering your face with your hands, letting out a groan. 

What happened?

---------------

A couple of hours later, you opened the door for William.  However, instead of being met with your usual smiling face, he sees you frowning.  Coming inside the house and taking off his coat and boots, William looks at you expectantly. 

“Hey, what's wrong?  Where's Aether?”  

Unable to speak, your bottom lip trembles, and tears start pouring out of your eyes.  Your brother embraces you as you cry into his shirt, thoroughly soaking it. 

“I know you're sad right now, but I need you to tell me what's wrong so I can help you.”

He plants you onto the couch before heading to the TV stand, grabbing the tissue box, and sitting next to you. 

You sniffle your way into telling him the events that lead up to this point and you expect him to be angry.  Instead, you are met with a loud stomach laugh. 

“I know it's wrong for me to be laughing, but you're an idiot sometimes you know that?”

You let out an offended gasp at his comment before he starts to speak again. 

“The reason why Aether left in such a rush wasn't because of Lumine.  It's because he was jealous and heartbroken.  Your action leading up to the phone call is probably what tipped him off at first, making him jealous, while your vague responses to me asking to drop off presents made it seem like you were inviting a significant other over.  The only person you have to blame is your own stupidity for not telling him that it was just me, your brother, coming over for a short period of time.”

You grab one of the pillows sitting on the couch and bury your face in it, letting out a muffled scream. Your brother just pats you back as you wallow in your ignorance. 

“You know that it's not too late to continue with your plan.  All you have to do is tell him the truth.”

You finally lift your head off from the pillow and look at your phone, sitting on the coffee table.  Determination evident in your eyes as you pick up your phone and call Aether, waiting for him to pick up.  

Only for it to go to voicemail. 

You quickly hang up and call again, knowing full well that Aether isn't busy. 

You tried calling him seven times before giving up and throwing your phone down on the couch in frustration.  

Your brother is still present to witness your little outburst of mixed emotions before suggesting a different tactic. 

You put on your winter coat and shove your boots on before grabbing your keys.  You rush out the door yelling thank you to your brother, almost slipping on ice as you sprint down the street toward Aether’s apartment. 

---------------

Aether feels like an idiot and an asshole after hearing you explain everything.  How William is actually your brother that he has known as Liam for the same amount of years he has known you.  How his overthinking led him to make the wrong decision.  How he thought lying to you would make things seem like nothing was wrong.  He felt terrible.  He ignored your calls because he was sad and yet here you are, in his apartment, out of breath with slightly puffy eyes.  

He made you cry.  Now he felt even worse. 

“I'm sorry for bailing on you.  It wasn't right for me to lie to your face like that because of my mixed emotions at the time.”

“So are we still friends?” You say hopefully.

“Yeah,” He replies with a nod and a smile, “but that's not the complete truth either.”

You tilt your head to the side in confusion. 

“I want to be more than friends…. I like you.”

Your eyes widen at this new information.  

He likes me?  All this time, I was fretting over being rejected when Aether was probably going through the same thing.

Realizing that you still haven't replied to him, you quickly blurt out, 

“I like you too!”

A sigh of relief escapes Aether's lips.

“How about we change our movie night into a date instead.  We could go ice skating, but only if you're interested.”

“I'd love to.” smiling widely as you reply. 

“Oh, one last thing.  You can say no if you're uncomfortable with it, but can I kiss you?”. 

He was using his puppy dog eyes at you.  How could you possibly refuse?  

You give him a nod and he slowly leans his body toward you.  Reaching his hand out to cup your cheek, feeling the warmth of his palm against it as your blush grows.  He starts to inch his face closer to yours until his nose is almost touching yours.  You feel his breath on your skin and can tell he is nervous with how his lips tremble slightly.  Finally, Aether tilts his head, and closes the gap between the two of you. 

His lips are soft against your own and meld perfectly with yours.  You don't separate until you are out of breath, slightly gasping for air, only for you to reconnect your lips with his again.  You feel his other hand travel down to your waist to pull you closer. 

When you two finally separate, Aether gets up from his couch and holds out hand.  You gladly put your hand in his and he pulls you up into his chest, using his other hand on your hip to keep you in place.  He then peppers your cheek with quick kisses in which you giggle at his sudden affection, but don't stop him. 

After getting his fill, he takes you to the door and helps you into your coat and boots like a gentleman.  

He links your hands with his once more and you both head out the door not as friends, but lovers. 

---------------

Bonus

You were currently cuddled up to Aether on your shared couch while watching some Christmas movies.  Your head was resting on Aether's chest, listening to his rhythmic heartbeat, arms around his waist with a fleece blanket draped over both of your legs.  As you were enjoying Aether's warm embrace, you can't help but remember a fond memory and let out a small chuckle. 

“What are you thinking about that's so funny?” Aether asked with a small smile while poking your forehead.  

“Just thinking about the time when we had that flour fight and how your whole face was covered.  Your expression made you look like you had a pie thrown at you.”

“Haha, very funny.  But let's not forget the fact that you had an egg yolk running down your head.”

“And whose fault is that, hm?”

“You were the one who initiated the fight.  I was just finishing it.” He said with a smug smile.  You give him an unamused look and his face softens, “Time sure does fly, huh.”

“That's because I get to spend everyday with you.” you say while looking up at Aether's face with a loving gaze. 

“That's so cheesy,”  He says with a laugh while rolling his eyes, “but I wouldn't have put it any better myself.”  

Planting a kiss on your forehead, his arm around your waist pulls you closer to him and he intertwines his hand with yours, feeling the ring on your finger.  

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

---------------

an | Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed your stay here!

[yourthirdparent]

Fandom: Mortal Kombat (2021), Mortal Kombat - All Media Types

Tags: Liu Kang/Cole Young, Liu Kang/Kano, Sonya Blade/Liu Kang, Jackson "Jax" Briggs/Liu Kang, Liu Kang/Kung Lao everyone's got a thing for liu, sex mentioned like thrice, liu kang's big wet autism eyes

The fic where Liu Kang is just so easy to fall for.

full fic under the cut

God, Liu Kang was pretty.

With his big, almost permanently sad eyes, and his long, silky hair, and his soft pink lips (well, they looked soft anyway)—it was like he walked right out of one of Cole's dreams.

And now he was on his knees in front of Cole.

Not sexually, of course. Attracted as Cole may have been to the pretty boy in front of him, he was still a married man. He wouldn't have let it get so far for Liu Kang to actually drop down in front of him. No, Liu Kang was just tending to his wounds. But that didn’t stop Cole's racing mind.

Needle, thread, fire. Needle, thread, fire.

Liu Kang was speaking, but Cole hardly noticed, too busy staring at his elegant hands, strong and yet so gentle over Cole's skin, his pretty face, built so delicately that Cole felt he would shatter if his expression shifted too far. In his distraction, he almost didn't realise that Liu Kang was speaking at all. Almost. He finally tuned into Liu Kang’s words just in time to catch the tail end of his story.

“He had a mark, so I chose to take it from him, and in that moment, my arcana came forth.”

Fire, fire, fire.

Kano didn't really mean what he'd said at dinner. Well, half didn't mean it. Actually, he didn't care much for Kung Lao, but he meant everything he said about Liu Kang.

There was some mysterious, innate charm about Liu Kang. As frustrated as he was with Liu's obnoxious, pompous, self-righteous attitude, he couldn't deny that he was…intriguing, to say the least.

And by intriguing, he meant incredibly hot.

Fitting, considering the fireballs, that a guy like him would always get Kano hot and bothered—both in the figurative sense and the literal.

The idea of the pretty little monk on his knees was almost as arousing as the image of his cocky smirk when he knocked Kano on his ass. Damn, how he wanted to fuck that smirk off his face.

But now that Kano had unlocked his arcana, the sweet thing seemed to be favouring him over the others. At the very least he had to favour him over Little Miss “Liability” Blade, and he definitely favoured him over Cole, the human punching bag. And with that Major Briggs practically out of commission, who else was gonna be little Liu's favourite?

Of course, the guy was still annoying. That “I'm so pure and I'm better than you” attitude didn't leave, and it definitely didn't stop being directed at Kano, but now, while still obnoxious, it made Kano less angry than it had before.

He still wanted to fuck it out of him though.

Sonya liked Liu Kang.

He was sweet, and he was actually respectful of her without being afraid. It was hard to come by people like that. Jax was the only other person she could think of off the top of her head. Cole was intimidated by her (holding a gun up to him when they first meet will do that, she supposed), Kano looked down on her even though she'd taken him down before and could easily do so again, but Liu Kang, while not accepting her as a champion because she didn't have the marking (even though she would definitely be a much better fighter than Kano), still respected her as a fighter, and readily accepted the help she was willing to provide to help Jax get back on his feet.

They didn't have many chances to chat—the only consistent contact they had was at meals, and they couldn't talk to their full extent while in the middle of a table full of other people—but when they did talk, they got the chance to really speak.

Sonya expressed her distaste of Kano, Liu Kang did the same. Turned out he agreed that Sonya would have been a far better champion. Apparently he disliked Kano's unwarranted arrogance about as much as she hated his filthy mouthed disrespect. He also didn't trust him, what with his background, and he wasn't a fan of his brutish fighting style.

(“He doesn't fight,” Liu Kang said to her after yet another argument Kano had instigated. When Sonya opened her mouth to retort that yes, he very much did fight, he continued, “He destroys. He's not skilled, just strong. He's not a warrior. He's a thug.”

Sonya agreed.)

When Sonya said she was concerned about the tournament, Liu Kang assigned her a few tasks to help the others train. When Sonya said she was frustrated with Jax's hopelessness, Liu Kang told her to draw on her own experiences to motivate him, which turned out to be the first thing that worked.

When Sonya said she wished she could participate in the tournament, Liu Kang agreed, then leaned in closer while he whispered plans of bloodshed to her, plans of her taking a mark for herself, plans of her fighting in Kano's place, all while staring at her with those huge, dark eyes.

Yeah. Sonya liked him.

Liu Kang didn't come by Jax's room often. Tasks related to his recovery were mostly given to Sonya or the medics while Liu Kang focused on getting Cole to unlock his arcana. Every so often, however, Liu Kang left his duties to Kung Lao and went to see Jax himself.

Usually he would just come to check on him, asking about how he's been doing, any lingering issues, any further concerns. Sometimes, though, he'd assist Jax with his recovery and his training himself.

At the moment, at the end of the day, after training, he was working to alleviate Jax’s phantom pains by massaging what was left of his arms and shoulders.

While Liu's hands made tiny little circular motions over Jax's shoulders and the spot where they had connected to his arms, Jax remained silent. Liu Kang's treatment, the massages and the acupuncture, had been helping. The pains had stopped almost entirely, but he didn't want to end his sessions with Liu in case it was the continuation of that treatment that kept it from flaring up again. Something about not quitting when you see results, like with any long term medicine.

That, and the fact that he enjoyed seeing him.

He couldn't be blamed, really. The opportunity to see a pretty thing like that, have his hands on him, get to chat him up—anyone would understand, right? He saw how the others looked at Liu Kang, certainly none of them would disagree. So he never told Liu to quit, so he didn't.

Liu Kang took his hands off of Jax's shoulders slowly, each finger leaving Jax's skin separately, trailing just a little in their wake, causing him to shudder slightly. Liu Kang must have noticed, because he immediately asked if he was alright.

Jax hummed lowly. “Yeah, I'm fine,” he said. “It's just…” He trailed off, letting Liu Kang settle back in to listen.

“I can't fight as well as I used to,” he said.

Liu Kang tilted his head almost imperceptibly. “In what way?”

Jax twisted the hand at the end of his prosthetic arm. “I can't punch as hard.”

Liu Kang tipped his head downwards slightly, as if in thought, his hair falling just slightly in front of his face, then he looked back up at him. “You're trying to put force into your throw with the strength in your arms, but the prosthetics aren't as strong as your arms were. The strength in your punches should come from the motion. Try twisting more when you throw.”

He stood, placing a hand on Jax's shoulder just to bring himself closer in that way he was so fond of. “Get some rest. You made great progress today. Sonya will be back to help you further tomorrow.”

He turned and walked out of the room, leaving Jax to stare at his retreating figure.

Maybe next time he'd try harder to make him stay.

Kung Lao knew how the others viewed Liu Kang. It was obvious. They could hardly keep their eyes off him on a good day. The last time Cole trained with him, he got so distracted by Liu Kang's shirt being off that he got half the hair on his arm singed right off. Whenever the champions sat down at meals together, the spots directly next to and across from Liu Kang were immediately taken by whoever got there first. Kung Lao had to eat next to Kano several times because the bastard wouldn't stop stealing his seat. Every time Liu Kang looked away from Sonya, her eyes would immediately drop and linger on his waist. Jax always seemed to find excuses to talk to him or to spend time around him.

It wasn't that Kung Lao didn't understand—Liu Kang was attractive, Kung Lao saw that every day—but it was beginning to hinder everyone's training, and as the tournament grew nearer, any hindrances were infinitely more dangerous.

It got to the point where Kung Lao had to talk to Liu Kang about it.

“Liu,” he greeted upon entering their shared room. Liu Kang nodded in response.

He was organising a set of books. The collection seemed random, a few books on firearms that Liu Kang probably wouldn’t recognise even if he was holding them, a book on acupuncture, a couple on martial arts styles that Liu Kang had already mastered years ago, more that Kung Lao couldn't bother to make out, all seemingly randomly placed, but Kung Lao knew Liu Kang had a system. He always did.

Kung Lao sat down on the chair by Liu Kang's desk. “I've noticed you seem to be distracting the chosen ones,” he said.

Liu Kang turned his eyes to look at him. “How do you mean?”

“Are you genuinely ignorant or are you trying to protect them?”

Liu Kang paused in his sorting, then turned fully to Kung Lao. “I need to know how you think I'm distracting them before I can answer that question.”

Kung Lao took his hat off, setting it aside and then shaking his hair out. “Earlier today, you managed to knock Kano down with a sweep kick. He's always on guard for those.”

Liu Kang tipped his head to the side. “Perhaps he was distracted by something else,” he said. “As the tournament approaches, things look more dire by the day. It may be that the nerves are finally catching up past the alcohol in his system.”

“He was staring at your ass, shi di.”

Liu Kang turned away and leaned against the wall in one smooth motion. “It appears madness has finally taken hold.”

Kung Lao rolled his eyes. “I’m not mad, nor am I blind. Quit trying to protect them.” He stood and stepped forward towards Liu Kang. “Any distraction is a liability. It puts everyone in danger.” He sighed. “It's best that you take a less direct role in their training.”

Liu Kang looked back at him, silent for several moments, just staring.

Damn, Kung Lao really understood how the others were so taken with him. He was wildly alluring.

Kung Lao sighed again. “Just make sure they don't get so caught up in you that they forget the tournament.”

The corners of Liu Kang's mouth turned up just a bit. “Of course. I would never dream of putting the tournament in jeopardy.”

He went back to his sorting, arranging the books in an entirely different order this time. A book on criminal practices at the top of the stack, a book on war at the bottom. Kung Lao might never figure out what it meant, but books were unimportant when the chosen ones were too distracted by Liu to train. He stared at Liu Kang's back as he arranged the books in the middle.

Maybe Kung Lao was just a bit distracted by him too.

[xiaoluclair]

Yo! Hi. So,

Lestappen 7, 16 or 48

Mctwinks 32, 13 or 17

Norstappen 22, 20 or 2

Please and thank you

hi boo, imma get one of these out bc it was draiiinning and write the other two later!

17. to distract // ln4.op81 // G

Liam was a terrible influence, really. The Logan of this morning, bleary eyed and braindead with the prospect of a new day, would never have picked a lock, let alone failed at picking it and been bestowed with detention the entire month.

So. Terrible influence.

It's in the hour before his first detention, where he's stowed himself away in the library next to Oscar, that he gets a WhatsApp notification from his mom. Don't forget eggs for tonight! Also Kat has something to ask you.

logan, pops down from the top of the screen a second later. He thumbs open the message thread. i left dad's present in m02.

good for you, Logan thumbs out, while trying to think of a way to get out of detention that isn't 'I have to buy eggs'.

"What's wrong?" Oscar asks him. "You've got your 'Something is wrong' face on."

"I have to run groceries for my dad's birthday cake," Logan tells him. The time on his phone flicks to 16:57. "And get my sister's present for him that she forgot in the art block, and do this while I'm in detention."

"I can do those," offers Oscar.

"We're going out for dinner at six," added Logan, swinging his rucksack over his shoulder as he stood. "I haven't even told my mom yet. Don't play the Jurassic Park theme tune at my funeral."

Oscar grins. "No promises. And don't tell you mum," he adds, grabbing his own bag and following Logan out of the library, "not today anyway."

"Okay," they turn down a corridor of lockers, "so I should just. Not show up? Happy birthday dad, your son's M.I.A."

Oscar doesn't say anything for a minute. Logan leaves him be, caught up in his own trainwreck. They get to the room with a minute left on the clock. Logan turns to give Oscar a hug. When they pull apart, Oscar gives his shoulder a squeeze, round lump of a nose scrunched up a little with his grin. "Sit near the window," he says. "And leave the rest to me."

Logan enters detention feeling suitably concerned about his best friend's mental health. There's a couple of people already sat down, and a girl takes up the seat closest to the row of windows so Logan takes the seat just behind her. There's no teacher. Two minutes later, a boy lopes in, and drops his backpack down as he props himself on the desk at the front of the room, a wrinkled piece of paper in hand. "Prigard?"

"Here."

"Lawrence?"

"Yup."

"Sargeant?"

"Uh, here," says Logan, staring. He's fairly certain the guy is too young to be a teacher. He barely looks older than Logan. No one else says anything about it though, so.

It's fifteen minutes into the hour, maybe, when the door opens. Logan glances up, history essay blurring on the table. A few others do too, including the guy at the front, who's spent the entire time after taking roll fiddling on his phone.

"Ella Hare?" he says, glancing down at the register sheet. "You're a little late."

"Sorry," says Oscar, slipping slightly awkwardly into the room. "Got stuck in a comb."

Guy At The Front lights up like a very small Christmas Tree. He leans forward slightly. "Glad you found your way out."

Oscar makes his way to the front of the room. By this point, everyone in the is watching with at least an absent boredom. "Sorry to interrupt, mister..."

"Norris," says the guy, grinning.

"Mr Norris," repeats Oscar, stopping at the other end of the desk, and Logan can see his entire face. "What are your thoughts on... defenestration."

Logan puts his pad of paper and pen carefully into his bag. He zips it up as quietly as he can while Mr Norris says, "I love defenderation." Logan's hand slips, and the zipping goes slightly high-pitched and too loud. He freezes, eyes on the back of Mr Norris's head. It starts to turn.

"Hey," says Oscar loudly, quickly, "Mr Norris, are you free right now?"

A pause. "Depends," says Mr Norris. Logan edges out of his seat.

"Would you mind listening to my sister's grade eight saxophone?" Oscar continues. Logan nearly chokes on his own tongue.

"Would I..." echoes Mr Norris, and now he sounds confused.

"Yeah," says Oscar. The girl next to Logan is watching him creep his bag onto his shoulders with raised, incredibly studded eyebrows. Logan wonders if they're legal. "She needs a second opinion?"

"I'm the second opinion?"

"On estimate," says Oscar, and then there's a saxophone blaring through the room, just obnoxious enough for Logan to lift his chair back into the desk and fumble the window open. Now everyone is looking at him. There's a set of twins who look like they're three second away from shitting themselves with laughter.

Logan looks to where Oscar has his phone out. Mr Norris has perched on the end of the desk, back of his curly head to Logan and eyes on Oscar. He reaches up just as Logan puts his leg out of the window, and presses a finger to Oscar's phone. The music cuts out on a high note. "She's good," he says. "But is that what you came here to ask? If you were looking for Brown, then-"

Logan's arm slips and bangs into the window sill. Shit.

"What the-" Mr Norris twists. Logan's mentally signing his death certificate, when Oscar lunges out and his hand goes around Mr Norris's cheek. And then he, to Logan's immense horror, crushes their mouths together.

Logan's pretty sure his jaw just hit the other side of the earth.

Then he remembers why Oscar's just kissed a teacher, and funnels himself the rest of the way out of the window as quickly as possible.

Liam hands him a carton of eggs, the present his sister forgot, and three packs of Daim. "Sorry," he says, sincerely. "I wouldn't have asked if I knew that was all today."

"No problem," says Logan, still reeling. "All in the name of love."

Liam looks at him concernedly. "Right. Are you. Okay?"

"Oscar kissed a teacher," Logan tells him. That's illegal, he's pretty sure. More illegal than twenty piercings in one eyebrow.

Liam's face goes bewildered. "Really? Why?"

Logan groans. "To get me out of detention."

"Why'd he have to kiss a teacher?" asks Liam, confused. "Wasn't Lando taking it?"

Now Logan's also confused. He asks, tucking the eggs, the present, and two of the Daim packs into his bag. "Lando?"

Liam elaborates, taking the Daim pack and opening it so Logan can arrange everything in a way that hopefully won't break the eggs, "Lando Norris? Curly hair, kind of tanned. He's a senior. And a teacher's pet, although I'm not sure how, he's not exactly known for being the perfect academic."

"So he's not a teacher?" Logan checks.

Liam shakes his head, confirming, "Nope," as he passes Logan the opened Daim pack. "Also you better get a move on, or Oscar kissing Lando to get you out of detention is going to mean nothing." Urged on and sufficiently comforted by the knowledge that his best friend will not be sent to jail, Logan rushes to flag down his bus home.

are you alive? he sends Oscar. he isnt a teacher btw hes a senior. also im on the bus.

The reply comes while he's video taping his dad cutting the cake and he's singing Happy Birthday a lot quieter than his mom. That's a relief, it reads, punctuation and all, because I'm pretty sure I asked him out for good measure.

Logan continues recording, and just hopes Oscar's bid for love never involves breaking into the cupboard of art supplies.

[shifterglitter]

The Stitching Method

Disclaimer: If there is a method similar to this that I am unaware of I apologize. I am sure someone has thought of this before me some were.

I was laying in my bed listening to affirmations the other day when I intuitively started this visualization and I thought I'd share it with all of you because I feel I got close to shifting with it.

If you like affirmations to play for you you can put them on before you start. If not, you can just say the affirmations you want in your head later and put on whatever subliminal, white noise, or music you want if silence distracts you.

Begin by getting into a comfortable position and doing some square breathing until you feel your body go calm.

Visualize yourself standing in complete darkness.

At your feet lays a glowing metallic roll of fabric. Push or kick the roll so it ravels out in front of you and then step on to the edge of it.

Watch as the tapestry of your life starts to move under you, taking you through your life events.

When you get to the end of your experiences the tapestry will stop moving but continued to stretch out before you. This blank weave of natural fibers represents your future.

Imagine a giant rotary cutter (or pendulum blade like I did) coming down from the void.

In time with each affirmation the sharp edge passes over the tapestry, severing the fibers little by little.

Once the rug is fully severed let the blank end dissolve back into the void around you.

I want you to then reach your hand above your head, it will disappear into the blackness too. Believe that your hand is currently in a higher plan, and from it, you will pull the tapestry of your DR down to your level.

Once you have it hold on to if for a minute and think of the exact spot you want to start your DR life in. Once you have it whip that baby out in front of you and lay it at the end of your OR tapestry.

Remember what you did with the rotary cutter? Do that again, but this time it's a large needle and thick glowing metallic thread.

Tune back in to your affirmations and start stitching. Affirmation. Stitch. Affirmation. Stitch. And so on, until the two are fused perfectly. Once done the edges of your DR rug will glow the same metallic as your OR rug.

Take one more deep breath, affirm you live in your DR however you like, and leap over the stitching into your new timeline.

You can now end the visualization if you like or continue watching the DR life play out before you until you fall asleep.

Should you want to edit events of your OR past I'm sure you could stop the flow of the tapestry at any time to take out or add whatever events you want too. Using this for manifestation of things in your OR seems like a good possibility too.

Any way. Good luck, remember that you don't need methods to shift, and if anyone actually tries this let me know how it went please.

[vitaminseetarot]

PAC: What Does Libra Season Have in Store For You? ☁💗🌆

Happy Autumn folks and welcome back! I'm stoked. I enjoyed my first day of Autumn with some good ol cider. This is looking to be a very busy fall season!

NEWS! Starting tomorrow I will be heading out on a vacation trip for a little over a week where I'll be away from Tumblr for the majority of the time, so things will be pretty quiet on this blog until mid-October. But stick around because when I come back, I'll be bringing some Tarot games with me, sprucing up my page, and more! 🍎

(I also got a new desk which is going to make card spread layouts so much easier! kazoo)

So for now, I thought I would tune into the vibes of the upcoming sun in Libra transit and catch a brief glimpse into what it has prepared for you all this crispy cool season.

(Content warning: there is an image containing blood on one of the cards. It's from the Shadowscape Tarot deck. I will find a way to modify this card in the future.)

Please select one of the three sunset skies below. I will dub them Peach (1), Fuchsia (2), and Violet (3).

Pile 1: Peach Sky

Ace of Pentacles, Page of Cups, King of Pentacles, Six of Cups, Ten of Swords; Compassion, 21. Venus, 6. Sun - Light, Sadness

Hi pile 1! Your Libra season will be filled with a sense of grace. I feel like you've been going through some struggles lately and you're wondering if help is available. Libra season may be a good time for you to reach out to loved ones and anybody who can help you in your current struggle. It could be related to money. You're going to be near those who understand your troubles and may have advice which can re center you. With the open minded Page of Cups, you may receive a nugget of wisdom which can propel you to create something new.

You'll be able to reconnect more with your inner child during this next month. In the midst of struggling, we can often forget or neglect our child side which needs to feel safe in order to come out of hiding. You'll have chances to let small joys assist you in healing. Try watching that movie you've been thinking about, you might end up really enjoying it. These moments can help give you important insights into helping you heal something that's kept you down in the dumps.

You may likely have episodes throughout the month where your energy and drive take a dip and you'll have to sit some stuff out to process your thoughts for a while. I'm feeling a lot of this gloomy Ten of Swords energy is from various past issues. Nothing in your deck suggests rushing through this, if anything the King of Pentacles says "success isn't an overnight thing". Take the time you need to work through old sticky feelings that stop you from moving forward.

A lot of self care will be required for this solar season, pile 1. Give yourself the occasional indulgence, but look closely over your finances this month. Don't use indulgence as a distraction from getting important work done. Libra is a season of balance, and this pile is about the balance between prudence and play. Make time to regenerate yourself with fun, then tend to needed duties. Do what you can and stay open minded to receiving outside help from guides or people.

Pile 2: Fuchsia Sky

XVII Star, King of Cups, X Wheel of Fortune, Three of Swords, Six of Wands; Listening, 29. Ceres, 3. East - Beginnings, Frustration

Hey pile 2, it seems like for the first time in a while things may finally be looking up. During this time, you could meet someone who will be like a counselor figure to you (or an actual counselor). You will have someone who will be there to understand you. I get the impression that you recently went through some form of upheaval and lack the sensation of solid ground. Things are likely still in a state of flux during Libra season, but since the King of Cups has no trouble sailing over choppy waters, you can lean on that wisdom and spiritual strength to get through.

A lot could be changing in your life, or even that you're in the liminal phase of being from one place to another. It's like you're holding a train ticket that lets you visit any city you want. You're beginning to scratch the surface of what possibilities are out there for you. Decisions are hardly in the books right now. The key is to tend to what opportunities you would love more than others and allow the one you want to grow. Ceres wants you to be patient and deliberate with your moves.

Situations may come up where you're made to reckon with your old memories that have caused pain. I'm putting a content warning for blood on this pile and to be honest, even if blood doesn't trigger you there may be times in this month where something may trigger old wounds when least expected. On the flipside, this month also shows that you are undergoing a lot of change as to how you deal with these situations. Your reactions to old stimuli may change and you may find yourself being cool where you were once upset.

Although hope is forecast in your reading, you may not be in the right place to ring any victory bells. Achievement of something major is not likely to happen this month, for you pile 2 this will be a developmental month that will allow you to gently transition into the next phase of your life. Be sure to check in with yourself every now and then to congratulate yourself for the little things, even--no, especially when progress appears slow or all over the place. The time will come where you will feel more focused and determined to tackle something big, but for now appreciate the small victories and rejoice in silver linings of any kind.

Pile 3: Violet Sky

Page of Swords, Five of Cups, Eight of Wands, Ace of Wands, Five of Wands; Mystery, 6. Virgo, 22. Air - Motion, Love

Hello pile 3, This Libra season will likely involve education for you of some kind. You may be a student in school now or you're out of school but looking for something new to try. You could also be looking into new ideas or plans for your next year. I think this pile is really into the autumn season, like you guys are ready to let it go and slide into the next year. This season has you in a contemplative space where you get to weigh options. Though you may find some time to work things out, I think the month will move faster for you than you think. (If you're applying for scholarships or the like, check your emails vigilantly.)

You will definitely be blessed with a feeling of catharsis, as Five of Cups can talk about pure emotional release. Something has likely been an issue either in the front or back of your mind, some kind of long term issue involving relationships and making goals work. Your mind has spent enough time whirling around trying to solve the problem with pure logic. The only way to let go of the scattering thoughts is to allow the emotions locked in to completely flow out. Then the logic will work more effectively, like taking a jammed piece of paper out of a printer.

Some of you could have recently broken up with someone and you're figuring out how to move on with your life. Or there was a recent argument with a loved one. Something like that which creates a need to reevaluate one's path. Since one path didn't work out, what other options could be on the table? You're being given the chance to dive into anything without anticipating results good or bad. Allow yourself to explore and find something that either creates joy or helps you to release old pain (like an artsy workshop).

This month could open up a lot of chances for you to organize and set easier priorities for your life, for this year and the next. The catharsis will finally allow everything to move, both your actions and manifestations. You'll be amazed by how quickly and smoothly the pace will pick up after relationship issues are placed on the backburner (unless there's an urgent issue involved). Note that catharsis doesn't always involve crying it out; sometimes it can be done through a good laugh or even a great workout. You could find emotional release through whatever it is you'd like to learn. For some of you, this is your sign: It's worth looking into.

This reading has not been evaluated by the FDA to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure any disease or infection. Please ask your physician before going online.

2023, @VitaminseeTarot ™

[ladytauria]

Hear me out: 92 and jaycest for the smut prompts

i heard you loud and clear nonny 😌

this... ended up being a monster of a fic (almost 6k) so i'm not posting the entirety of it here, lmao.

my original plan for this was to be a coda to cloves, smoke, and honey, but every time i sat down to write nothing came to me. so finally i started listing jay pairings while looking up selfcest prompts and—then something clicked and i ended up with this <3

in which hood!jay ends up in a universe where his alternate never died <3

i had a really good time with this one! i hope you enjoy <3

(note: i was picturing jay at about ~17 in this, and jason at least 22. however, no ages are stated; just that jay is going to college soon <3)

>> AO3 <<

Hood plants his hands on the desk, leaning against it, looking up at the monitors. Batman and Nightwing are still out. Spoiler and Robin’s curfews got called an hour ago. (Tim’s probably still sulking about it, but whatever. School’s important, no matter what the brat thinks.) Alfred retired when they did.

That leaves just Hood and Jay.

Hood… He showed up just shy of a month ago. Some asshole’s running around, opening portals to other dimensions, and Hood got caught in the crossfire. Stranded, until they can catch the guy.

He won’t show them his face. Won’t even walk around in just a domino! Instead, he’s always wearing that obnoxious red helmet.

It’s driving B crazy.

Even Tim, stalker extraordinaire, hasn’t been able to figure out Hood’s identity.

Or. If he has, the little gremlin isn’t sharing. Jason highly doubts he’d hide it, though. B and Dick are too wound up about it.

Jay… He can’t blame them. Hood’s scarily well-trained. Bruce tried putting him on lock down once and he just breezed right past the defenses as soon as they left. That’s when Dick had suggested they work together—mostly to keep an eye on Hood, which they all know Hood is aware of.

Jay’s pretty sure Dick meant to take the job. Hood and B… well, the way his hackles raise if Batman so much as glances in his direction… That’s a powder keg waiting to blow. Thing is, while Hood will tolerate Nightwing—mostly—the one he trusts the most is…

Jay.

It’s flattering.

And it’s kind of nice to be the one in charge of keeping an eye on Hood.

Jay is still a recent graduate of his Robin role, and it’s a struggle to be taken seriously as his own hero. He’s… looking forward to college, honestly. To either put vigilantism on the back burner or just set up somewhere new—he hasn’t decided yet. It’ll be nice, to leave and come back changed.

Anyway, but actually being trusted to run with Hood at night makes him feel… More like a part of the team. He knows Bruce will never trust him as much as he does Dick—and he’d like to say he’s made his peace with that, but he hasn’t—but at least he trusts him with something.

Jay just wishes he wasn’t so distracted. Even now, Jay’s not paying as much attention to what’s on the monitors so much as he is the way Hood’s tac pants pull taut over his ass and thighs. Which—fuck, those thighs. Firm and muscular and thick.

He choked a guy out with them earlier tonight. Jay’s blood had rushed south so fast he’d thought he was gonna pass out. It’d taken every trick he knew to will his erection down so he could keep working.

The arousal still sings in his blood—a quiet tune, but present all the same. Jay wets his lips, and then walks over to him. “That was some nice fightin’ tonight, Hood,” he says casually, drawing closer to Hood. “Bet you’re tired.  I wouldn’t mind givin’ ya a hand.” He trails his fingers over Hood’s forearm—doubts he feels it much, with his armor and jacket still in the way. “You could take a nice, hot shower, and then… I could give ya a massage. Work out some of that tension you’ve been carryin’.”

Hood is still. Jay’s not sure he’s breathing. “Kid,” he says—and then stops, hands flexing on the table. Jay waits for him to gather himself, or shake his head and tell him to get lost.

It’s not the first time he’s flirted with Hood. It was a joke at first. Hood was attractive, Jay recognized that from the start, but… Well. Jay had discovered a few years ago that flirting was a good way to throw people off of their game. (It also invited trouble, of course. The silent ‘I-told-you-so’ from Bruce after Mask started showing actual interest in him had been deafening. But mostly, it served Jason well, so he kept going it.) He hadn’t meant anything by it at first.

He does now.

Has since Hood shoved him up against a wall, bracketing him in with his body, one gloved hand pressed against his mouth. He’d hardly noticed the people passing them; senses too full of leather and steel and gunpowder. His cock had strained in his cup, a thousand times more uncomfortable than the brick at his back.

His attempts since have been utterly sincere.

Hood has never told him off. A few times, he’s even flirted back… before obviously stopping himself.

Jay persists.

“You don’t want this,” Hood says finally, turning his head to meet Jay’s eyes. The whites of his helmet are blank. They give nothing away. Neither does his voice, not with the modulator in the way. Even his body language is inscrutable.

“You don’t get to tell me that,” Jay tells him, his voice breathier than he means it to be. Anticipation thrums in his veins.

Hood lets go of the desk, standing up to his full height. Jay— Jay will be lucky to hit 5’7. More than likely, he’s going to be stuck at 5’5 for the rest of his life. Hood… Hood is taller than Bruce, beating him out by a single inch. Jay has to tip his head back to keep holding Hood’s gaze.

“You have… no idea who you’re talking to,” Hood says, and the modulator adds to the harshness of his tone.

Rather than turn Jay off, it makes him shiver before defiantly lifting his chin.

“Oh, fuck off. You wanna tell me you’re not interested? Fine, that’s fair. I’ll back off. You wanna tell me to stop? Fine. That’s fair. I stop. But you don’t get to tell me that I don’t want this. That I don’t want you.”

Jay steps closer. He already stripped out of his armor, leaving him in nothing but a form-fitting t-shirt and tight leggings. He ditched his cup, too, which means when he grinds his hips forward, there’s nothing to prevent Hood from feeling his erection as he plasters himself against Hood’s side, stretching onto his tip-toes. His lips brush where Hood’s ear would be, if not for the helmet.

“Let me show you how much I mean what I say,” he whispers.

Hood goes still again—but it’s the same kind of stillness that falls just before a storm. Jay holds his breath.

It’s knocked from him when Hood grabs him, broad hands gripping his waist and lifting him onto the desk—his ass just barely missing the keyboard.

Then, he reaches up; a low, mechanical hiss sending Jay’s heart into his throat. Hood tosses the helmet aside—Jay hears it hit the ground, roll, but he doesn’t bother to look where it lands. Instead, he watches Hood rip his domino off next, tossing that aside too, and then, finally—

Jay sees him.

He drinks him in ravenously. The scar, starring at his mouth and trailing up, up, to his temple, where it disappears into his hairline. His hair is dark, curly, wild and askew the same way Jay’s is after a patrol. There’s a shock of white in the front, where his bangs curl on his forehead, forming a heart shape.

Huh.

Jason’s do that too.

Their noses are similar, too; a little crooked, with a raised bump in the middle. They’ve both got full mouths, settled into a natural pout. A small scattering of freckles over their noses, including a darker one under the left eye.

A scar, mostly faded, over a brow.

Jay’s eyes go wide. “You’re—” Me, he doesn’t finish, the word sticking in his throat.

How many times had he tried to guess which of them Hood could be, if any of them at all? Himself had never crossed his mind, not once.

Hood… He wielded guns with brutal efficiency. None of Bruce’s security measures could contain him. When Nightwing challenged him to a spar, they’d been so close to evenly matched. He had the height, the bulk to match Bruce, and—

He was just…

Hood was dangerous, and lethal, and confident, and skilled, and big, and—

So very unlike Jay at all.

Yet… There he is. He has a few more scars, and his jaw is more defined, but— They have the same full cheeks, the ones that give him perpetual babyface. Especially with his long, dark lashes and full, pink lips.

Jay… is starting to see why people call him pretty.

“I told you,” Hood—Jason says harshly. It’s Jay’s first time hearing it without the modulator. His voice is low, gravelly. It makes his skin pebble.

Hood being Jason doesn’t make him want him less at all. He’s still the same ultra-competent badass that he was before, and—

Jay would like to get his hands on him right now, pretty please.

Jason doesn’t seem to have gotten the memo. Insecurity still runs deep, Jay guesses.

“Go on. It’s past time little birdies went back to their nests.”

Jay fists both hands in the collar of his jacket before Jason can take more than a single step. “Shut up,” he snaps—and then yanks him down into a fierce, hungry kiss.

Jason gasps into his mouth.

For one heart-stopping second, Jay thinks he’s going to be shoved away. Thinks Jason will look at him with disgust, humiliate him for even considering that Jason might want anything to do with him.

Jason doesn’t.

Instead, he steps forward, forcing Jay to tip his head back. There’s the rustle of fabric, and then—a hand, no longer gloved, tangles in his hair, pulling just-so in a way that makes Jay gasp, shiver, hips rocking forward, grinding his dick against the molded abs of Jason’s armor.

His moan is embarrassing, high enough that the bats rustle restlessly above them.

Jason presses the advantage, plunging his tongue in Jay’s mouth. It tastes of peppermint and cigarettes as Jason licks into him slow and deep, delving into every nook and crevice of Jay’s mouth.

Jay shudders; legs locking around Jason’s waist.

When Jason pulls away… Jay whines, trying to chase him. It’s the hand in his hair that stills him; fingers tightening, holding him in place.

“Please,” he begs.

Jason’s nostrils flare. Then… his gaze flickers around them, evaluating their surroundings.

“Not here,” he says finally.

Jay whimpers, embarrassingly high, when Jason lifts him; hands braced under his thighs, the curve of his ass.

And Jay— he may not be very tall, but he’s solid; all muscle and pockets of fat, a body honed through years of training.

Jason holds him like he weighs nothing at all.

Even when they climb the stairs, Jason taking them two-by-two, he doesn’t falter. Barely breathes any heavier, even when Jay gives into the urge to start sucking marks onto his neck.

He knows he’s affected. He can feel his pulse, hear the soft hitches in his breathing, but—

His steps never waver.

>> continue on ao3 <<

[rayslittlekitten]

Heavyweight

A/N: Okay so I've had this idea floating around for a long while. This is inspired by Commitment Issues written by the lovely @coweye. I'm not a Benny person but this series really got me hooked. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it. This was also inspired by "Emily" by James Arthur (YT link below) and this whole music video formulated in my head but I really wanted to write this so the challenge was to translate this music video in my head into a fic. The music video, I imagined more like intercuts and no dialogue at all. Basically a montage of key parts of the fight and also him warming up and getting ready for the fight and slo mo shots. I can go on and on about how I imagined this music video so let me stop there lol, but I hope this also gives the same feel that I've been going for. Also, thanks to @musings-of-a-rose for beta reading this for me! Enjoy!

Rating: T? (for violence)

Word Count: 1517

Plot: Benny has a lot weighing on him.

Contains: mild violence? (MMA fighting), a little blood, mentions of pregnancy and birthing

Benny keeps his head down, focusing on his hands as his brother carefully wraps them.

"How does that feel?" Will asks.

Benny forms a fist and then opens his hand back up, flexing it back and forth to test the tightness and comfortability.

"Feels good," Benny nods.

While waiting for his fight, Benny warms up to keep himself distracted. After some stretching and doing some mitt work with Will, he jumps rope for a bit while trying to keep his mind clear, counting each jump as he makes it. Counting is a method Will uses to stay grounded and focused. It’s never worked for Benny but he’ll try just about anything right now.

Minutes before it's time for him to walk out, he takes a few moments to himself. Will leaves him alone with just his thoughts and there are more of them than usual. He pulls out a sonogram out of his locker and looks at it. He silently makes a little prayer and finishes just in time when Will interrupts.

"Hey, you're up."

Benny turns to look back at his brother and nods before kissing the picture and putting it away.

"You ready for this?" Will asks, grabbing both sides of his face.

"Hell yeah," Benny nods.

Will lays a gentle slap on Ben's face before gripping his shoulders.

"Hell yeah, you got this. Come on!"

The brothers walk down the wide empty hallway. The plain white walls and overhead fluorescent lighting makes it look sterile. As they continue making their way, they pass under a flickering bulb.

"From Red Feather Lakes, Colorado, standing six foot three, weighing in at 195 pounds... Ben Miller!"

When they enter the venue, the crowd goes crazy. Rock music fills the space and bright lights flash. The venue is sold out and "Benny" can be heard chanting. Ben's chest puffs out and his stance tall as his eyes are only focused on the octagon while he makes his way inside the cage. He's even tuned out all the noise and staying in fight mode.

When he gets inside the cage, he loosens up his limbs while waiting for his opponent. Will says something to him from his corner and he nods while staring down the guy on the opposite side of the ring. Ben makes his way to the center where the ref is. After quickly reciting the rules, they bump gloves and the bell goes off.

Round 1:

The men start dancing around each other, feeling each other out. They both take turns testing out their jabs, seeing how the other would react. The crowd roars when Benny gets the first hit. Benny catches a hook and stumbles back before falling. His face hits the mat and his opponent gets right on top of him. Before he can react, another blow hits his cheek.

"Arms up, Benny! Protect your head!" Will shouts.

Benny blocks the next hit when he finally brings his arms up. He curls up on his side while also protecting his midsection.

“Don’t give him your back!”

Benny is able to turn over onto his back but his opponent tries to mount him. Benny uses his legs to put some distance between them, preventing his opponent from getting the advantage. The opponent swoops for a hook but Benny is able to quickly roll away and get back on his feet. The crowd cheers at his recovery.

The two are back dancing.

Round 2:

Benny catches a kick and with his height advantage, brings up the leg and makes his opponent lose balance. His opponent hops on one leg trying to stay up as he swings at Benny, eating a jab or two but he’s unaffected.

The leg gets yanked from under Benny’s arm and he gets push kicked, causing him to take a few steps back. Both now have their hands up, anticipating each other's next move. His opponent throws a few jabs, testing his reach as Benny dodges them.

"Come on, Benny! Stop fucking around!" Will screams.

Benny cautiously inches closer to the man in front of him and gets a jab in. Feeling more confident, Benny takes another step and throws a cross which gets dodged. Feeling bold, Benny charges at him, wrapping his arms around his hips and trying to take him down. His opponent throws hammer fists at his back trying to get him off. Instead, Benny lifts him up and throws him down on the mat. Whistles and applause emerge from the crowd.

Round 3:

Benny's gloves are over his head and face as he gets plummeted with punches. He finds his back against the cage. As he tries to get away, his opponent's right fist collides with his face right as the bell rings, making Benny stumble back, almost completely losing his footing if it wasn't for the support behind him. By the look of the offender's face, his advances didn't produce the result he was hoping for. He was sure that would knock Benny out, especially after the countless blows. Will isn't the only one with a hard noggin.

"Fuck!" Benny shouts and then makes his way back to his corner with clenched fists and jaw.

"Fuck!" he echoes as Will wipes his bruised and bloodied face down with a towel.

"Hey," Will starts.

Benny is staring down the man on the opposite side as Will cleans up the new cut on his cheek and continues to coach him. His opponent looks back just as intensely as both of their chests rapidly rise and fall.

"Benny! Are you listening?" Will smacks his face.

"Yeah, stay on the ground."

"Look at me," Will says.

"Hey, look at me!" he repeats and forces his brother to make eye contact. "You got this, okay? I know you have a lot going on in here-" he says pointing to the top of his head. "And a lot going on here too," now pointing to his heart.

"But don't worry about that," Will continues. "Because she's gonna know her daddy is a contender. You owe yourself this last fight to go out like the fucking champ that you are. Do you hear me?"

Benny nods.

"You got this," Will reminds him. "Now finish this!"

Round 4:

Benny nods again, but with more assurance behind it. He then lets out a roaring scream while punching his gloves together. He jumps up and puts his fists up, ready and charged up to continue the fight. Bobbing and weaving, bouncing side to side, he makes his way closer to his opponent. After touching gloves, the bell rings immediately and he instinctively dodges the jab thrown at him and counters one with his own, hitting his opponent in the ribs, quickly followed by a hook to his liver. His opponent stumbles before falling.

Benny jumps on top of him, successfully mounting him and then rains punches down his face and head. His opponent curls in as he protects himself, allowing Benny an opportunity to slip behind him. With Benny's long legs wrapped around his opponent's waist, he's able to slip an arm around his neck after a few attempts.

"Yes! You got this!" Will shouts while shaking the cage.

After successfully putting the man in a headlock, Benny arches back, holding his torso down while pulling back on his head, stretching the opponent out. The crowd goes wild.

"BEN-NY! BEN-NY!"

The chanting encourages Benny and he uses all his might to keep his opponent straightened out as he continues to put more pressure on his neck. The thrashing continues in his arms.

"Put him to sleep!" Will yells.

Benny grunts and gives a little more squeeze, keeping his opponent in place and holding on for his life.  Finally, he feels tapping and the ref's hands on him, trying to pull him away. Benny instantly releases his defeated opponent and gets to his feet. Deafening cheers erupt and he roars as he bounces around the ring, throwing his fists in the air.

When Will jumps into the cage to celebrate his brother's win, Benny collides with him, wrapping his arms around his best corner man. A man who will eventually become the godfather to his unborn child.

***

Benny walks as fast as he can down the hallway with Will behind him trying to catch up, the white light above illuminating him more as he passes under them. Their pacing picks up and they're practically running at this point.

In the room, Benny is holding onto his girlfriend’s hand and coaching her through the birthing. She cries when she sees the baby, holding her against her body.

Benny cradles the wrapped newborn baby in his arms, being very careful. He stares down at her, studying every little part of her. Her eyes are barely open and her face is so small and squishy. He brings his pointer finger up and gently nudges his daughter’s fist. He smiles when she grabs onto his large finger, barely able to wrap her hand around it.

“Your daddy may have had his last fight, but I promise to never stop fighting for you.”

[misc-obeyme]

i have two one shot ideas, one of which is a song fic and the other is a royal au, both with mammon and my mc *head in hands* also I'm getting a commission of the scene where me and Solomon accidentally gang up on mammon akskfj

where was i?? MOVIE THEATER. okay obviously Solomon bought the tickets, so I feel like me and Mammon would probably fight to pay for snacks. Either Solomon pays when we're distracted, or Mammon snatches my card and sticks it in his wallet with a declaration of "I'm paying tonight."

when we go to find our seats, I immediately claim the aisle seat. The idea of having to climb over someone and be an inconvenience is mortifying. Cue Mammon taking the middle seat and claiming he'll be there to protect us both when we get scared. So it goes, Solomon, Mammon, then me.

Throughout the movie, Solomon is completely tuned in, he's so invested. Aside from the occasional yelp from Mammon, and me jumping in my seat, the two of us are holding it together really well !!! Until a really big jump scare, and me and Mammon turn to cling to each other, only to smack our heads together when we try to hide our face in the other's shoulder. Ouch </3

Solomon nudges Mammon to switch seats with him, which Mammon reluctantly does. Solomon places his arms on the armrests, palms facing up as an invitation to hold hands and comfort us, but he's got the biggest grin on his face. The next jump scare has Mammon grabbing Solomon's hand and squeezing it like a lifeline.

I'm more hesitant. It takes me a minute to instead link my arm with his, basically clinging to his bicep as I stare straight ahead without acknowledging what I'm doing. I occasionally hide my face against him when I think another jump scare will happen, but curiosity is cruel because I'm definitely peeking one eye to catch what happens. Catch me having nightmares </3

Solomon is living his best life. He's doing amazing. He can die happy. But it also really cements it for him that oh, he really does have an attraction to these two people. Being able to be their protector is really making his heart warm. The way the two of them are seeking comfort from him in their own ways. First 'Oh. Oh.' moment for Solomon. He's already scheming proper dates.

After the movie ends, Mammon is in full denial mode about how scared he was. Yet, even as we're walking out of the theatre, he still hasn't let Solomon's hand go. Not until we get back to the car. And it's already almost 1:30 in the morning, but we're still reluctant to turn in for the night. And that's when I suggest checking out this 24 hour diner that I swear has the best milkshakes ever known.

diner scene is gonna be so fun and then the sleepover!! This wasn't as good because I'm half asleep but work ended on a sour note (i definitely could've handled a situation better, imposter syndrome is hitting hard aaa I've never experienced that). But I needed to cheer myself up and what better way to do that than by thinking about my silly little story !! I got the wip sketch back from the artist and it made me so giddy. I'm slowly getting closer to actually writing. Soon !! I just need to be bullied into it lmaoo

Also the new ax merch 😭 what am i gonna do with a light stick? absolutely nothing. Am i still gonna hunt it down on eBay if it's not available online? Absolutely. OKAY HAVE A GOOD DAY/NIGHT AND FIND A LUCKY PENNY ON THE GROUND !! I CAN'T SAY STAY HYDRATED BC I DON'T EVEN KEEP MYSELF HYDRATED OKAY BYEE

- ✨ anon

Oh? You need some bullying?? Listen, admittedly I'm not very good at bullying... I definitely go more for the positive encouragement, but uh here's my attempt. *ahem* WRITE THAT STORY. OR ELSE!!

How was that? You're totally gonna write it now, right?? LOL!

Anyway, I say write all the stories!! One shots, too! Sometimes it's fun to do lil one shots because they don't take quite as long!

I loved you and Mammon smacking your heads together lol I'm sorry but that's just soooo cute!

AH SOLOMON stepping in to be your protector alds;kfjdlkfj. I LOVE IT. What a schemer, I love him so much! I also love that this is his oh moment lol. YESSSSS realizing your feelings!!

Ah but I'm sorry work ended badly! Imposter syndrome is a bitch, but it's also a big fat lie. I find the best way to deal with it is to ignore it as much as possible! Or replace it with true mantras that usually helps for me, too!

I haven't seen the ax merch! But you know, sometimes it's about having the item and displaying it, you don't have to use a light stick for anything! Hmm. I feel like I'm starting to sound like Levi lol.

OKAY let us both work on hydration then lol!! I hope you have a wonderful day/night as well!! I wait for the next scene with anticipation!!

[fateinthestars]

Star-Crossed Myth Fluffbruary Fanfic (5th Feb): A Good Night's Sleep (Aigonorus/MC)

Title: A Good Night's Sleep

Fandom: Star-Crossed Myth

Genre: Fluff

Rating: T

Pairing: Aigonorus/MC (MC’s name left blank so you can fill it in with whatever you wish in your head)

Word Count: 560

Written for Prompt: Feb 5: rescue | inertia | lullaby @fluffbruary

February 5th: A Good Night’s Sleep (Aigonorus/MC)

Aigonorus frowned to himself as he checked the planetarium in the reflecting pool in the heavens when he had a brief few minutes alone to do so. ___ looked even more tired than she had when he’d picked her up from work the day before. 

He sighed softly. If she wasn’t getting any sleep that worried him. As Tauxolouve came back into the room, he looked at the other. “‘M gonna go to the archives.”

“Everything alright?” Tauxolouve asked, somewhat surprised.

“... I don’t think ___’s getting any sleep. I should find a way to help…”

“You would worry about that,” Tauxolouve muttered teasingly, though he understood where he was coming from. “I’m not sure the archives is the best place to look for this though, unless you think there’s an outside issue causing it.”

Aigonorus sighed heavily. “I guess. What a pain. There must be something I can do…”

“Maybe try talking to Hue?” Tauxolouve suggested softly. “He has books on the Earth as well as the Heavens after all.”

“... ‘Kay,” Aigonorus reluctantly agreed. “I’m gonna head off then.”

Tauxolouve nodded. Whilst it wasn’t the end of their shift yet, this actually was more warning than he usually got from the other. He could tell that the other was troubled by this as he hadn’t had to wake the other today.

***

That evening, Aigonorus picked ___ up from the planetarium as per usual. He smiled softly at her as she headed over to him, though his eyes showed concern. “You’re tired.”

“I didn’t get any sleep last night, and not much the day before,” ___ admitted, leaning on him a little. “My mind’s been focussed on this event.”

“We should get you home,” Aigonorus muttered, holding her close and snapping his fingers before she could protest.

Once they were at her apartment, Aigonorus pulled her down onto the bed beside him and hugged her tightly.

___ went to say something, but then her eyes widened as Aigonorus started to sing a very old lullaby. She stifled a laugh.

Aigonrus cut off, frowning. “Am I doing something wrong? This can help people to sleep, right? It's not just children it works with?”

Laughing properly now, ___ wrapped her arms around him and returned his embrace before kissing him briefly. “I'm sorry. It's sweet of you to try. It's just… that's the wrong tune for those words… or the wrong words for that tune, depending on which you meant.”

“... Oh. Maybe I didn't fully understand what Hue meant then…”

___ smiled lovingly at him. “Or maybe you drifted off during the conversation. Especially considering you were talking about lullabies.”

Aigonorus sighed. “This was supposed to save you from another restless night.”

“Aigo,” ___ murmured softly and lovingly, “I don't need you to do anything to rescue me from that. You being here will be distraction enough. I take it you can stay tonight?”

“‘Course,” Aigonorus replied, now smiling brightly himself. “When's this event anyway?”

“... Tomorrow… so after that I'll have less on my mind.”

Aigonorus squeezed her gently. “You always worry too much.”

“I can't help it.”

“I know,” Aigonorus mumbled, holding her close. “It's always like this when you've got a lot on at work. But remember to lean on me…”

___ smiled and leant into the embrace, closing her eyes. “Thank you, Aigo. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

[final-girl96]

Broken World: Chapter Twenty-Nine

Present

Daryl stayed in the house for the night but the next day he was back in his own tent. Carl was finally doing better, at least enough for him to be out and about. I was dropping some wood by the fire pit when I overheard Glenn talking to Lori. “Did you tell Rick?” She only looked up at him as an answer. I tuned out the rest of the conversation, deciding it was none of my business. After talking to her Glenn went around with a crate of peaches and some jerky for everyone.

When he came up to me he was so distracted that he wasn't even looking at me. “Are you okay?” I asked, taking a peach. He flinched a little, head whipping around to look at me. “What? Yeah. I'm fine… why?” He rushed out. I narrowed my eyes at him, taking in his nervous expression. “You're lying but I'm not going to press.” I took a bite of the peach and walked off. I wanted to check in on Daryl but again I found myself listening in on a conversation I shouldn't have been.

“You were tryin’ to protect the group,” Daryl said. There were a few seconds of silence. “I don't think yn saw it like that. She was pretty upset that I shot you.” I heard Daryl scuff before he said, “Nah, she was pissed because you shot her. She doesn't give a damn about me.” That hurt a little to hear him say I don't care about him. “She cares. She was more pissed that you got shot than herself. I don't know your history with her, and I'm not going to ask, but she does care about you. I doubt she ever stopped.” There was more silence before Andrea walked out of Daryl's tent.

I quickly made myself look like I was just walking up to the tent when she looked up. “Yn, look, I'm sorry.” I put my hand up, cutting her off. “I know. You were protecting the group. I'm sorry for going off on you like I did. Just next time…make sure you can see what you're shooting at clearly.” She smiled at me and nodded her head, then walked away.

I took a deep breath and popped my head into Daryl’s tent. “Hey, how are you feeling?” I asked, stepping completely inside. He looked up from the book he had in his hands and shrugged. “M'fine. You?” I nodded, “Same. Not the first time I've been shot and probably won't be the last,” I say. He looks up at me, well he looks up at the bandage on my shoulder. “How many times have ya been shot?” He asked. I walked a little further into the tent and slowly lowered myself to sit on the floor and crossed my legs.

“Well, there was the time I told you about. Then there was the time before that. We were in the middle of a shoot out with a suspect. He was wanted for the disappearance and murder of a teenage girl. He had another victim in the house with him, and when we surrounded him, he kind of just went nuts. I pulled my shirt to show the scar on my stomach. Luckily, it went straight through. I didn't even realize I had been shot at first; not until it was all over.” I pulled my shirt down and cleared my throat. “Sounds like you've seen a lot of action,” he said.

I hummed, “Yeah. The city is full of bad people. I guess it still is, actually. Except now, they all roam free without worry of being caught. The world is a lawless place now, and anything can happen. To be honest, I'm more scared of the living than I am of the dead.” Daryl chewed on his bottom lip and nodded his head. Things fell quiet between us, neither of us saying anything more. I looked at the book he was fiddling with in his hands. The Mystery of the Missing Man. It's such a fitting title for everything we have all been dealing with these past few days. First, it was Merle, and now it's Sophia.

“You going to heShawith target practice?” I looked up at Daryl and shook my head. “No. I think I'm just going to stay here away from people who don't know how to shoot.” He huffed out a laugh. It took a little while, but eventually, we started talking more without it being awkward. Glenn had popped his head in to check if either of us needed anything. He and Maggie were going to be riding into town again to grab a few things. “Nope, we're good. Thanks, Glenn.”

Later on, everyone besides Andrea and Shane came back from target practice. Apparently, Shane took Andrea out to do a little more practice. Rick said she was the best one out of them all. She just needed a more difficult target. Shortly after everyone else was back though Glenn and Maggie came back from their run. I was suspecting something was going on with Lori, but I wasn't sure what; not until they got back.

Maggie marched right up to Lori and started throwing things on the ground. Lori was trying to get her to come into the tent where it was more private, but Maggie wasn't having any of it. “We got your lotion, reader's digest, abortion pills!” They didn't see me standing near the RV, and I didn't make myself known. Today was just full of eavesdropping. But at the same time, Lori didn't really hide shit that well. After Maggie stormed off, Lori picked everything up and went into her and Rick's tent. Glenn walked in shortly after and was out within a few seconds.

Look, I know I should mind my own business. But this was getting out of control. If she is pregnant, then she needs to tell Rick. Of course, everyone will know that it's not Rick's seeing as Rick hasn't been back for that long. I wasn't too sure about Rick yet, I mean, he's a good guy, but he's still dealing with things like it's the old world and that's just not going to work anymore.

When I saw Glenn disappear, I walked to the tent and stood at the entrance. “You know you should just tell your husband that you're pregnant with his best friend. No, having a baby in this new world full of the dead where any little noise could mean death isn't ideal. But you should at least talk to him first before you make any rash decisions. She looked at me with wide eyes, her mouth hung open like she was going to say something. “Don't worry, I won't say anything. But you should.”

[the-crystal-one]

Nicest Kids in Town!

Chapter 2

~Baltimore 1960~

It wasn't uncommon for Sandra to be in the detention room. Not because she was a bad student, never that. Mr.Ichbad had a small reputation for sending most of his students to detention halls for numerous reasons, chewing gum, laughing to loud,(being black and proud) blasting music from their stereos and last but not least, not being in your seat before the bell rung.

As Sandra approached the detention doors, she could hear the tunes seeping through the door. Like a light switch, her cheek bones rose and she pushed the door handle, revealing her brother and some other kids she knew. "Now I know y'all don't have detention this early in the day, y'all should be ashamed of ya'selfs." She fake scolded them all as she trekked to the front desk and folded her hands, breaking out in laughter.

Seaweed smiled, holding his hand out to her, "Aw now you know the man is always tryin' to get me down girl." Sandra grabbed his hand and pulled herself up, beginning to dance with him. "Mr.Stubbs what have you done this time to get yo'self 'down' by the man?" She smirked at him and moved her body, like water, with the music.

Her brother's hand flew to his chest and he feigned innocence, "Me?! Nah, I didn't do nothing-" A girl with her curlers still in popped up behind her, "He was playin' his stereo and gettin' fresh with Ms.Malene." Curlers walked away, beginning to take her hair down.

Seaweed smacked his lips and twirled his sister around to distract her from the situation at hand. "Let's focus on things that actually matter...Your Hair!" He softly pulled on one of Sandra's curls. She gasped and smacked his hand. "Boy I know what I'm doin'! How about you worry about one of these little girls you're around here chasing." He pushed her shoulder and went back to dancing. Sandra joined him and hummed along with the beat of the music.

~Timeskip through the day~ Sandra had finally slicked her hair back, leaving the back of her afro out to appease her and her mother. In the time that it took her to do that, a short chubby white girl, had entered the room. She looked a bit frazzled but that was usual when non black people entered the detention room. As Seaweed spun to the music, she crept around the crowd of people. Sandra brushed her off as nothing and began to glide her hands down her front half, following her brother's move.

"Can I help you?" Derek, a lightskinned brotha in the corner of the class asked the girl, turning his neck down to look at her. She watched the two siblings in awe, "That moves swish!" Derek broke out into a smile and turned his head back to Seaweed and Saucy. "Got that right."

"The man can diet me on a diet of detention, so long as he don't starve me of my tunes baby!" Seaweed turned to the girl and Saucy did the same, gliding over to her. Tracey look at the brown skinned woman and smiled. "Does this dance have a name?" Sandra nodded and shimmied around the small woman, "Mhmmm, he calls it 'The Peyton Place after midnight'." She lightly shook the girl with tall black hair.

"I use to uh, attract the opposite sex." Seaweed shimmed and began strutting towards the girl and his sister. "Wow, that is so groovy." The teenager watched as the boy spin slowly and hold his hand out to her. "You're really good!" She kept awing over him, Saucy on the other side of her couldn't take it anymore because she could see her big headed brother's ego boost with every compliment. "Why thank you." She smiled and pondered for a second, "So would it be something like this?" He looked over at his sister and pulled her over, beginning his dance again, but this time, the chubby girl joined in. "Hey I know where I've seen you two before!" Saucy and Seaweed looked over at each other as smiles grew on their faces, "Oh yeah?" Seaweed's movements didn't halt for a moment. Saucy on the other hand took the chance to catch her breath and lean against a desk, "Where?"

Tracey's smile grew twenty sizes as she began fawning over the two "stars", "On Corny's show on negro day! Negro day is the best I wish everyday were negro day!" Saucy couldn't contain her roaring laughter. Seaweed and Tracey began to circle one another, "At our house, it is." The room followed suit in Saucy's action and burst out in chuckles and giggles.

As the laughter continued, Tracey stood, looking up at Seaweed and then at Saucy, "Hey...Show me another one?" Seaweed's arm draped over his older sister (by a couple of months) shoulder, "Oh you wanna see another one?" Saucy's hip poked out and she looked to her brother, "Oh I think she wants to see another one."

"Well," Seaweed began, "Here's a little somethin' signified to say, 'Hello, My name is Seaweed J. ," He pulled Tracey closer with an invisible rope. "Stubbs." The room oh'd and awe'd. Saucy sat back giggled at the current actions and sat up on a desk, swinging her feet to and fro. "What's your's girl?" She called out. "I'm Tray! Cee! Turn! Blad!" The entire room erupted in joy and shock, "You betta get it white girl!"

"Well Tracey, you got it goin' on girl, and before she forgets, the elegant, the lovely, the wonderful," Saucy rolled her eyes as her brother drew out her introduction out, "The always amazing, Sandra "Saucy" Stubbs." The room once again went up in arms, probably disturbing the already peeved teachers.

She waved them all off, "Anyhow, Tracey baby, you one of us now." She gave her a wink and the girl smirked to her. "You're goin' this program already in progress!" Her hips rotated and that caused Sandra to hop off of the desk, bumping Tracey with her own hips.

"Let's go." Seaweed spoke to Tracey as Derek cranked the music back up. Everyone gave themselves space and started dancing, loud and proud.

Unbeknownst to them all, peeking through the glass of the window were two, rather nosey, white boys. Very entrapped by the small teenager, gyrating around without a care in the world.

As the door slowly creaked open, Sandra straightened herself out and cleared her throat.

Seaweed on the other hand didn't notice, "So how you likin' detention?" Tracey's hips moved fluidly, "I'm a bad bad girl who needs to be punished!" She smacked herself on the rear end. Sandra nudged her sibling and nodded towards the door, making him cover his mouth to laugh. Tracey turned her head to the door to see Link Larken and another male staring right back at her.

A beat went by.

"Hey you know...Corny's hosting the hop tomorrow, if he saw you dancing like that he'd put you in the show." The two Black children stood between the other white ones, watching this painfully awkward moment, just before the bell rung Tracy nodded her head, brushing past Link.

"Sorry little darlin', hope I didn't dent your do." He stalked out of the detention room and Saucy looked at Tracey. "Well, you have a good time, we'll see you...eventually." She grabbed her brother's hand and yanked him out of the classroom. ~Chapter 3~

[pirateswhore]

Her White Wolf - Chapter II

With Rumple gone, Belle is left to pick up the pieces on her own. Could a certain wolf help mend her heart? Mid season 4 AU (aka giving Belle the brain cells she needs and resolving my first queer disappointment on the show).

thank you @xarandomdreamx for being a lovely beta !

for - @caliburn-the-sword

Chapter II published on ao3:

Chapter II - Somebody to Someone.

"Killian?" She called out into the library.

"Over here, Belle." His voice echoed from somewhere between the shelves, and she followed it the best she could. He was leaning over a desk in the back corner of the library, hook trailing the lines of text before him. They had made little progress in their research, but each dead end seemed to only spur him on.

She stood a few feet from him, twiddling her thumbs. "Can I ask you something?"

"You may, ask away." His eyes were still fixed on the book, and his voice sounded somewhat absent-minded.

"Let's go out tonight."

His eyebrows shot up and his pupils widened. He turned to her, confusion plastered on his face.

"Not on a date. Just for drinks. As friends. I could use a distraction."

He held her gaze for a moment, and it made her want to take it back, thinking she had misjudged their relationship. But then a wide smiled beamed across his features and his face lit up, eyes crinkling as he closed the book.

"I'd love to! Shall we lock up for tonight?"

She nodded and went through her usual routine for closing the library as Killian set their research away. After half an hour, they were walking down main street. They met with Emma momentarily, just so Killian could wish her goodnight, and as she got in her bug to drive away, he turned to Belle.

"So, Granny's?"

She shook her head. "No. Rabbit Hole, I want something harder than sodas." He chuckled and they made their way to the bar. Belle wasn't a regular patron of such establishments as she didn't really have friends, Rumple was not the type and she felt stupid going on her own. They sat down in a booth towards the back, close to the darts station. He ordered rum and she followed, unsure of what other drinks there were.

The conversations were light and comfortable at first, mostly chit-chat and the occasional comments about the weather and their work. Eventually, Killian took the drink from her - her 3rd for the night - and spoke.

"Belle, your drinking could rival the hardiest of sailors. What are you trying to drink away, love?"

There was an honest worry in his eyes that made her wince. She wasn't used to people being so in-tune with her feelings and caring. Rumple often came off as tone-deaf, not noticing a change in mood until she brought something up. Her head dropped to the side and she didn't know how to answer.

"Rumple, I guess." She finally said.

"Oh, Belle..." he reached out for her hand and squeezed it, encouraging her to open up.

"It's just. Now that he's gone, and I was forced to face the truth, I'm realising just how blind I was. Our relationship was horrible, and I should've left long ago."

"Love makes us see the best in people, and then amplifies it. It's an honourable thing, having faith in people."

"Yea, yea. Much good my faith brought me." She turned to him, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. Her voice cracked. "I wish I could take it back. I wish I'd never been with him."

"But then you may not be the person you are today. Your love for him changed you, and helped get you here. Now, I understand your current standing may not be favourable, but there's no reason you can't move on, in whichever direction you want to go."

She nodded, trying her best not to fall apart completely. She still had some shred of dignity to her name. "I guess."

His thumb brushed over her knuckles and they fell silent. He didn't push the conversation, didn't coerce her to say more than she was willing to. She'd noticed he did that a lot, letting others take the lead. He respected their boundaries, offering his support from the side, never forcing it on anyone. She appreciated that, being given a choice.

"I'm jealous of you and Emma." She finally admitted. "Not because I want to be with you, but because I want what you have together."

He sat back, brows brought together. She shifted in her seat, trying to find the words for what she wanted to say. She took a deep breath and started.

"These past couple of weeks, I’ve had the chance to reflect on Rumple’s and my relationship. Simultaneously, I also had a look at your relationship with Emma. It made me realise how similar yet different they are, and how alike you and Rumple are." He opened his mouth in protest, most likely over being compared to his worst enemy, but Belle pushed forth. "You both have your demons. You've both lived long lives filled with darkness and misdeeds. And you both met women who were willing to help you change. Where you differ is that you actually changed, Killian. You took your life and future in your hands, er - hand and hook, and you pushed yourself to be better. You admitted to what you did, and you never tried to hide it. You let Emma help you, but you don't make her do all the work. She's simply there to remind you of what you're fighting for."

His shoulders relaxed and his mouth fell open as he struggled to reply. Still, she continued.

"Rumple never did any of that. He lied, he manipulated me and others, and he expected love and happiness to fall into his lap with no effort. You gave away your most prized possession for the chance of seeing Emma again. Rumple wouldn't let go of the magic even when I begged him to."

Her voice faltered at the last words and they came out as a whimper. Killian reached for her, but Belle shook her head and carried on.

"You love Emma more than anything, that much is clear. You would do anything for her, she's your whole world. I just wish someone would love me the same."

She couldn't stop the tears anymore, hot wet streams spilling down her cheeks.

"I just want to be somebody to someone." She sniffled. Killian sat silently for a couple of moments, letting her words settle for him. This must have been weighing heavily on her heart, and he knew he'd have to be careful with how he responded. He scooted over in the booth, so that he was sitting next to her. His arm came around her, the other's hand tilting her head up to him.

"For what it's worth, you're somebody to me. You're my friend. And you deserve to find someone who will love you as much as I love Emma. And you will, I'm certain of that."

She smiled and settled her head on his shoulder. A sigh escaped her chest - half hopeful, half sorrowful.

"What do you say we ditch the bar and their watered-down rum, and go somewhere better?"

"What do you have in mind?"

He opened up his jacket and tapped the flask tucked away in an inside pocket. A devious smirk flashed across his face. "The docks are always an option."

They gathered their stuff and made their leave. He handled the bill and held her coat for her, muttering "Always a gentleman," and winking at her.

The air outside was cold, biting at her skin. The alcohol buzzed through her veins and made her warm on the inside. The walk from the bar to the docks was short, and once there, they sat down on a bench overlooking the ocean. He handed her the flask and they took turns sipping from it, slipping back into pleasant conversations. After a while, she sighed, eyes fixated on the horizon.

"Do you miss it?" He turned to her, a quizzical look in his eyes. "The sea, travelling. Being able to go where you want and having the world laid out in front of you.

He leaned forward, elbows resting on his thighs. "Aye, sometimes. But I'm more than happy to settle here, in town."

"With Emma?"

"Hopefully. If she'll have me."

Belle closed her eyes, letting the sea air breeze over her cheeks and cool her skin.

"I've always wanted to see the world. Visit the places I read about in my books." She said after a while.

"I'd gladly take you if I had my ship."

She turned to him, and saw sincerity in his eyes. "Killian? Whatever happened to the Jolly? Who did you trade with, where is she now?"

"Traded her for a magic bean. Some merchant in a market that dealt with magical artefacts. I don't know what he did to her. She's worth quite a lot as a ship, but the wood she's made of is Enchanted, and would fetch a fair sum if dismantled." The idea of his ship being sold in scraps twisted his face in a disgusted expression. Belle reached out and held his hand.

"Maybe, after we figure out how to open the hat, we could try and get her back? I know there are some retrieval spells."

A hopeful smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "Aye?"

"Aye," she echoed.

"I'd be forever grateful for that, Belle. And then we could sail anywhere, with Emma and Henry." His eyebrows wiggled across his forehead. "And possibly a special someone of yours?"

She scoffed and leaned back into the bench. "As if. Finding someone in this town that doesn't see me as "The Dark One's ex-wife will be a challenge." Her head shook as she laughed, curls bouncing over her shoulders.

"What about that wolf-lass, Ruby?"

She stiffened at the mention of her. She tried her best to play dumb, and hoped the blush on her cheeks could be attributed to the rum. "What about Ruby?"

"I'm not dull, love. I've noticed you only order take-out when she's the only one delivering it; all the other times you pick it up in person. You've been a regular at Granny's, and I have a suspicion it's not for the donuts."

Belle couldn't deny it; she did try her best to visit Granny's as often as possible, hoping to catch a glimpse of Ruby. Ever since their conversation in the library, she found her thoughts flicking to Ruby repeatedly.

Killian poked her with his hook gently. "You've got a crush on her, don't you!" He laughed, and Belle did too.

"We have a history."

"Oh! Marvellous!"

"She helped me in the past, to get away from Rumple before. And then when the town hunted her down for something she didn't do, she came to me for refuge."

"Why don't you tell her? She's obviously fond of you. Don't think your sneaking glances went unnoticed, I'm quite the perceptive pirate."

"I can't. It's complicated."

"Love often is. Doesn't mean it's not worth the risk."

Belle shook her head, wincing. "It's not that, it's... What will people think?"

He blinked in confusion. "I don't think anyone would judge you for moving on so soon."

"Killian..." She gave him a pained look. "We're both women."

"I'm aware."

"Not everyone is supportive of that. I know my father isn't, and I don't know how Granny would feel."

His brows furrowed and his jaw clenched. "I was under the impression this realm was more progressive."

"For the most part, yes. But the people in this town are from the Enchanted Forest, and it was still looked down upon there. At least in my father's kingdom."

His fingers tapped the bench as he searched for a solution. "I'll stab whoever has an issue with it."

"Killian!" She jumped and smacked his shoulder, snickering playfully. He chuckled along but then turned to her again.

"Belle, listen to me. You spent your whole life worrying about other people. Don't you think it's high time you worry about yourself and your happiness?" He said earnestly, deep blue eyes boring into hers.

She thought about his words, eyes drifting back to the sea. "I don't even know if she feels the same way."

"That can be found out."

She shook her head and smiled. The thought of Ruby made her happy, and the thought of them together didn't scare her as much as she thought it would. Ruby did say she was there for her, and a small part of Belle hoped there was a chance for something more than friendship between them.

"We'll see. For now, pass the rum."

~~~~~~~

She felt herself being lowered into a bed, arms twisting from underneath her. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw Killian stepping away.

"Hey."

"Hey. You fell asleep at the docks."

"I did?" she sat up slightly, rubbing her eyes.

"Aye. Didn't know you were a sleepy drunk." He chuckled. She was too sleepy and buzzed to fight him on it, and fell back onto the sheets.

"I took the liberty of taking you home. Can't leave a lady sleeping on a bench in my care. Hope you don't mind?"

"Uh-huh," she hummed, "Thanks." She reached down and undid the clasps on her high heels, and kicked them off. He picked them up and set them by the bedroom door.

"I bought you a mineral water for the hangover, it's on the nightstand. You’ve got a bucket on the left side. Call if you need anything."

"Bottah of wotah." She mocked in a fake accent and giggled. He rolled his eyes but chuckled along. "Thanks." She grumbled from beneath the sheets. "Nightie."

"Goodnight Belle."

He took his leave and she could hear her apartment door open and close before she slipped off to dreamland.